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Portiere

Designer Candace Wheeler American
ca. 1883
Not on view
The elegant portiere is the most recent addition to the Museum's collection of more than forty works by Candace Wheeler. It is a companion piece to a large embroidery given by her daughter Dora Wheeler Keith in 1928 (28.34.1), showing a field of purple and gold irises spangled with beaded dragonflies. That example and our new portiere, with its appliquéd and embroidered panel of purple and gold pansies dappled in sunlight and shadow, were exhibited together in a display by Wheeler and her new all-woman design firm, Associated Artists, in January 1884, at a benefit to raise money for the base of the Statue of Liberty.

One contemporary article described this portiere: "'The Pansy Bed' by Mrs. T. H. Wheeler, is a good example of distinctly original work both in design, color, and method. The effect is of a pansy bed in its greatest luxuriance of color, and shows how far towards realism and picturesqueness decorative work can be safely carried." The portiere has "A A" embroidered on one of the velvet panels, and "A A" is woven into the selvage of the gold silk-damask lining, which is patterned with interlacing columbines.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portiere
  • Designer: Candace Wheeler (American, Delhi, New York 1827–1923 New York)
  • Artist: Associated Artists (1883–1907)
  • Date: ca. 1883
  • Geography: Made in New York, New York, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Front: Silk velvet, and silk appliquéd and embroidered with silk and wool
    Back: Silk damask
  • Dimensions: 115 x 45 in. (292.1 x 114.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation Gift, 2003
  • Object Number: 2003.48
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Bees with Honeycomb, Candace Wheeler American, Wallpaper fragment printed in six colors with four additional metallic colors
Bees with Honeycomb
Candace Wheeler
1881
Spider Web, Candace Wheeler American, Pen, black ink, and gouache with graphite scoring lines and corrections
Spider Web
Candace Wheeler
1847–1923
Irises panel, Candace Wheeler American, Silk embroidered with silk and metallic-wrapped cotton threads, metal sequins, and cut-glass beads, American
Irises panel
Multiple artists/makers
1883
Bees-and-honeycomb textile, Candace Wheeler American, Silk and wool, woven, American
Bees-and-honeycomb textile
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1883
Daffodil textile, Candace Wheeler American, Printed and woven cotton velvet, American
Daffodil textile
Candace Wheeler
Associated Artists
1883–1900

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