Manhattan
Hanging
1930 (made)
1930 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This printed cotton furnishing fabric was designed by Ruth Reeves (1892-1966) for W. & J. Sloane in 1930. Reeves trained with Fernand Léger (1881-1955) during the 1920s and was influenced by his Cubist paintings. She produced a wide range of printed and woven fabrics, mainly depicting modern life in America. Her most widely acknowledged commission was for the carpets in Radio City Music Hall in New York.
‘Manhattan’ shows the high-rise New York cityscape at the beginning of the 1930s It includes the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn bridge and the Statue of Liberty as well as automobiles, factories, trains and biplanes and people typing in offices, taking photographs and enjoying the nightlife.
‘Manhattan’ shows the high-rise New York cityscape at the beginning of the 1930s It includes the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn bridge and the Statue of Liberty as well as automobiles, factories, trains and biplanes and people typing in offices, taking photographs and enjoying the nightlife.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Manhattan (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed cotton voile |
| Brief description | Printed cotton voile, American, 1930, designed by Ruth Reeves for W.& J. Sloane, 'Manhattan' |
| Physical description | Design depicting the highrise cityscape of Manhattan at the beginning of the 1930s. Includes the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn bridge and the Statue of Liberty as well as automobiles, factories, trains and biplanes and women typing in offices, telephone operators at their switchborads, people taking photographs and enjoying the nightlife. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | Reeves studied in Brooklyn, New York , and with Fernand Léger in Paris. This design shows the influence of both. Symbols of modernity -transport, engineering, architecture and communications technology- are linked by Cubist-inspired compositional devices to create a romantic vision of Manhattan. |
| Credit line | Given by W.&J. Sloane |
| Summary | This printed cotton furnishing fabric was designed by Ruth Reeves (1892-1966) for W. & J. Sloane in 1930. Reeves trained with Fernand Léger (1881-1955) during the 1920s and was influenced by his Cubist paintings. She produced a wide range of printed and woven fabrics, mainly depicting modern life in America. Her most widely acknowledged commission was for the carpets in Radio City Music Hall in New York. ‘Manhattan’ shows the high-rise New York cityscape at the beginning of the 1930s It includes the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn bridge and the Statue of Liberty as well as automobiles, factories, trains and biplanes and people typing in offices, taking photographs and enjoying the nightlife. |
| Bibliographic reference | Samuels, Charlotte. Art Deco Textiles. London : V&A Publications, 2003. Plate 69.
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.57-1932 |
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| Record created | August 29, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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