Bees with Honeycomb

Candace Wheeler was an advocate for the development of women’s skills in the service of their financial self-sufficiency. She appreciated wallpaper’s universal appeal and affordability, "making beauty possible to those who have little as well as those who have much." This wallpaper sample derives from a design that she submitted in 1881 to an international competition sponsored by the American wallpaper manufacturer Warren, Fuller & Lange. Wheeler’s bees-and-honeycomb pattern won first prize but also received criticism. While some lauded her relatively naturalistic initial rendition, others considered the design "quite unsuited for ordinary use" because "insects buzzing at one all day assuredly would not contribute to that sense of repose which, as a rule, a good wall-paper should afford."