Trinidad
Furnishing Fabric
1960 (designed)
1960 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Born in Trinidad and trained in London, Althea McNish was quickly taken up by the thriving British textile industry in the late 1950s. She had a successful career as a freelance designer to companies such as Heal Fabrics, Ascher, Hull Traders, Liberty and Edinburgh Weavers before working on hand-painted textile hangings. Her designs are characterised by a vibrant choice of colour and free, painterly arrangements.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Trinidad (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | printed cotton |
Brief description | 'Trinidad', printed cotton furnishing fabric by Althea McNish for Heals, British |
Physical description | Furnishing fabric with a green, purple and blue flowers on an indigo ground. |
Dimensions |
|
Marks and inscriptions | 'woven and printed in England Heal's 'Trinidad' by Althea McNish' (English; selvedge) |
Gallery label | Caribbean patterns for the British mass market
Althea McNish was a pioneering designer in the textile industry. Depicting flora from her birth country Trinidad, this fabric is one of her many bold, vibrant designs for British fashion and furnishing companies. McNish was part of the Caribbean Artists Movement which promoted a shared sense of nationhood and highlighted Caribbean peoples’ contribution to British culture during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Patterned furnishing fabric
‘Trinidad’, 1960
Designed by Althea McNish
Manufactured by Heal & Sons, UK
Printed cotton
Given by Heal & Son Ltd
Museum no. T.444-1999
The object sits in the 'Crisis and Conflict' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.
(2021) |
Credit line | Given by Heal & Son Ltd. |
Object history | Acquired in 1995 as part of the Heal's archive |
Summary | Born in Trinidad and trained in London, Althea McNish was quickly taken up by the thriving British textile industry in the late 1950s. She had a successful career as a freelance designer to companies such as Heal Fabrics, Ascher, Hull Traders, Liberty and Edinburgh Weavers before working on hand-painted textile hangings. Her designs are characterised by a vibrant choice of colour and free, painterly arrangements. |
Other number | 1680 - Heals number |
Collection | |
Accession number | T.444-1999 |
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Record created | July 17, 2000 |
Record URL |
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