"Americana Prints: Buttons and Thread" Textile
In his 1963 memoir, renowned photographer Edward Steichen recalled: "In 1926, I was approached by Ruzzie Green, art director of the Stehli Silks Corporation, with the project of creating a series of photographic designs for silk dress fabrics. I said this would interest me very much if I didn’t have to do flowers and garlands. He said, ‘You can photograph whatever you wish.’ I asked, ‘Would that include lumps of sugar or mothballs, tacks, nails, and so forth?’" [1] The radical Steichen Group of designs that glorified humble everyday objects received great acclaim.
[1] Edward Steichen. A Life in Photography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963, unpaginated.
[1] Edward Steichen. A Life in Photography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963, unpaginated.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Americana Prints: Buttons and Thread" Textile
- Designer: Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
- Manufacturer: Stehli Silks Corporation (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1897–1953)
- Date: 1927 (Series III, released spring 1928)
- Medium: Printed silk
- Dimensions: 26 1/2 x 38 1/4 in. (67.3 x 97.2 cm)
- Classification: Textiles-Printed
- Credit Line: Gift of Stehli Silks Corporation, 1927
- Object Number: 27.243.8
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
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Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
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Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
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Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
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