Ever wish you could have your own a Picasso or a Matisse?
Well in the 1950s you could ...well kind of.
Pablo Picasso, Toros y Toreros, (1963) for Bloomcraft Fabrics. Salvador Dali, Number, Please? (1947). Textile for Wesley Simpson. © Courtesy Target Gallery / Fashion and Textile Museum London |
The list of artists who have dabbled in textiles is extremely impressive, with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marcel Vertes, Raoul Dufy, Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol and more. Seeing the possibility of bringing high art to the masses, Fuller Fabrics ambitiously created the Modern Masters series in the mid 1950's. Through collaborating with top artists of the time you could now buy 'art by the yard' for as little as $1.50 a yard. At that price I probably would have brought whole rolls of fabric! Imagine the possibilities! Dresses, ties, shirts and in Warhol fruit or Picasso bulls?
Henri Matisse, Escharpe No. 1, 1947, Marcel Vertes, Pennies from Heaven, c. 1946 © Courtesy Target Gallery / Fashion and Textile Museum London |
Fernand Leger and model Anne Gunning 1955 |
Model Ivy Nicholson with art by Marc Chagall, 1955. Pablo Picasso and model Bettina Graziani 1955. |
If you enjoy these stunning fabrics as much as I do, take a look at this cute little video about artist designed textiles in the 1940's.