Festival of Britain
Furnishing Fabric
1951 (made)
1951 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Produced to commemorate the Festival of Britain in 1951, this print was designed by John Barker for David Whitehead Limited. At that time, David Whitehead Limited, based in Lancashire, was noted for its progressive design policy, which had been led by their director of furnishing fabrics, John Murray. The print shows an image of the exhibition on the South Bank in London, but the Festival was spread across many other venues through the city, and it was celebrated all round Britain. The design also refers to the Great Exhibition of 1851 by incorporating silhouettes of the Crystal Palace, which was constructed to hold the exhibition in Hyde Park in London.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Festival of Britain (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Screen-printed rayon satin |
| Brief description | Furnishing fabric 'Festival of Britain' of screen-printed rayon satin, designed by John Barker, made by David Whitehead & Sons Ltd., Lancashire, 1951 |
| Physical description | Furnishing fabric of screen-printed rayon satin, featuring bird's eye view of the South Bank buildings for the Festival of Britain, 1951, and silhouettes of the Crystal Palace (1851) in a linear stylised elevation, surrounded by oak leaves. The pattern consists of a trellis formed by leafy oak branches framing alternate views of the buildings. In acid yellow, green, mauve, red, blue and black. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | '1851-1951' (In a cartouche below the Crystal Palace building.) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Edna French |
| Production | Reason For Production: Commemorative |
| Summary | Produced to commemorate the Festival of Britain in 1951, this print was designed by John Barker for David Whitehead Limited. At that time, David Whitehead Limited, based in Lancashire, was noted for its progressive design policy, which had been led by their director of furnishing fabrics, John Murray. The print shows an image of the exhibition on the South Bank in London, but the Festival was spread across many other venues through the city, and it was celebrated all round Britain. The design also refers to the Great Exhibition of 1851 by incorporating silhouettes of the Crystal Palace, which was constructed to hold the exhibition in Hyde Park in London. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.288-1982 |
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| Record created | April 4, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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