Dancing Women
Furnishing Fabric
1938 (made)
1938 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The designer of this textile, Frank Dobson (1887-1963) was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1946 to 1953.
He was trained as a painter but was always drawn towards sculpture. After active military service in France during the First World War (1914-18) he decided to concentrate on sculpture but he also produced textile designs in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1930s he designed textiles for commercial production by the avant-garde firm Allan Walton Textiles but also designed and cut lino-blocks for textiles which were printed by his wife, Mary.
This printed linen, called 'Dancing Women', was probably printed by Mary and may originally have been intended for the decoration of their own home. It demonstrates the ease with which he could form three-dimensional figures, using simple lines to give them vitality and rhythm, and it shows his love of the human form with its balance, grace and strength. It was one of his most successful textile designs.
He was trained as a painter but was always drawn towards sculpture. After active military service in France during the First World War (1914-18) he decided to concentrate on sculpture but he also produced textile designs in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1930s he designed textiles for commercial production by the avant-garde firm Allan Walton Textiles but also designed and cut lino-blocks for textiles which were printed by his wife, Mary.
This printed linen, called 'Dancing Women', was probably printed by Mary and may originally have been intended for the decoration of their own home. It demonstrates the ease with which he could form three-dimensional figures, using simple lines to give them vitality and rhythm, and it shows his love of the human form with its balance, grace and strength. It was one of his most successful textile designs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Dancing Women (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Hand block-printed linen |
| Brief description | Furnishing fabric 'Dancing Women' of hand block-printed linen, designed by Frank Dobson, England, 1938 |
| Physical description | Furnishing fabric of hand block-printed linen. With a repeat of two confronted, dancing naked, women linked by ribbons swirling from their hands in black and green printers' inks on a natural ground. Framed and glazed in perspex. |
| Dimensions |
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| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The designer of this textile, Frank Dobson (1887-1963) was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1946 to 1953. He was trained as a painter but was always drawn towards sculpture. After active military service in France during the First World War (1914-18) he decided to concentrate on sculpture but he also produced textile designs in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1930s he designed textiles for commercial production by the avant-garde firm Allan Walton Textiles but also designed and cut lino-blocks for textiles which were printed by his wife, Mary. This printed linen, called 'Dancing Women', was probably printed by Mary and may originally have been intended for the decoration of their own home. It demonstrates the ease with which he could form three-dimensional figures, using simple lines to give them vitality and rhythm, and it shows his love of the human form with its balance, grace and strength. It was one of his most successful textile designs. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.324-1938 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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