Pay It Forward: Dorothy Liebes as Mentor
Guest edited by Rhonda Brown of browngrotta arts
Image: Dorothy Liebes samples, from the collection of Mariette Rousseau-Vermette. Photo by Tom Grotta. Image above: Glen Kaufman, Banner, circa 1960s. Photo by Tom Grotta.
Dorothy Liebes (1897 - 1972) was an influencer before the term was coined. Known as the “mother of modern weaving,” and initiator of "The Liebes Look” she served as a national arbiter of interior design and fashion trends reaching thousands of people through print magazines, television, film, and significant collaborations with architects and corporations from Frank Lloyd Wright to Dupont. Liebes created luminous, jewel-toned fabrics, often incorporating nontraditional materials and metallic threads. While associated with high-end fashion and architecture projects, Liebes was also committed to making fabrics and good design accessible to the middle class.
Image: Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1930-1970. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
Liebes's life and design have received renewed attention in the past year as a result of the expansive exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt in New York and the accompanying book, both entitled, A Dark, A Light, A Bright: the Designs of Dorothy Liebes. In addition to upholstery, carpets, and fabrics created for high fashion in her studios, a significant aspect of Liebes's legacy includes the careers she nurtured and the example she set with her successful business. The exhibition could have easily been named, A Dark, A Light, A Bright … A Mentor. In the 40+ years she worked at her design studio, first in San Francisco, later in New York City, Liebes employed many talented designers and weavers promoting their work and encouraging them to reach artistic renown of their own. Among them, Liebes employed painters Emma Amos and Harry Soviak and weavers Geraldine Funk and Ralph Higbee, as Erin Dowding, Alexa Griffith Winton, and Charlotte Van Hardenburgh described in essays for the Cooper Hewitt exhibition.
Image: Dorothy Liebes samples, from the collection of Mariette Rousseau-Vermette. Photo by Tom Grotta. Image above: Glen Kaufman, Banner, circa 1960s. Photo by Tom Grotta.
Dorothy Liebes (1897 - 1972) was an influencer before the term was coined. Known as the “mother of modern weaving,” and initiator of "The Liebes Look” she served as a national arbiter of interior design and fashion trends reaching thousands of people through print magazines, television, film, and significant collaborations with architects and corporations from Frank Lloyd Wright to Dupont. Liebes created luminous, jewel-toned fabrics, often incorporating nontraditional materials and metallic threads. While associated with high-end fashion and architecture projects, Liebes was also committed to making fabrics and good design accessible to the middle class.
Image: Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1930-1970. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
Liebes's life and design have received renewed attention in the past year as a result of the expansive exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt in New York and the accompanying book, both entitled, A Dark, A Light, A Bright: the Designs of Dorothy Liebes. In addition to upholstery, carpets, and fabrics created for high fashion in her studios, a significant aspect of Liebes's legacy includes the careers she nurtured and the example she set with her successful business. The exhibition could have easily been named, A Dark, A Light, A Bright … A Mentor. In the 40+ years she worked at her design studio, first in San Francisco, later in New York City, Liebes employed many talented designers and weavers promoting their work and encouraging them to reach artistic renown of their own. Among them, Liebes employed painters Emma Amos and Harry Soviak and weavers Geraldine Funk and Ralph Higbee, as Erin Dowding, Alexa Griffith Winton, and Charlotte Van Hardenburgh described in essays for the Cooper Hewitt exhibition.
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