Preserving and Accessing Textiles

FAIN: PG-258323-18

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN 55455-2009)
Eunice Haugen (Project Director: May 2017 to September 2019)

The purchase of re-housing  materials and additional storage equipment for a collection of 130 textiles dating to the 1930s and 1940s, which are largely made up of screen prints and block prints that capture the stylistic nuances of early 20^th-century American modern textile design. The collection is widely used for coursework, research, and exhibitions, such as the 2013 Printed Textiles: Pattern Stories, which featured pieces from Folly Cove Designers and Ruth Reeves, Henriette Reiss, and Paul Poiret. The textiles provide examples of early and mid-20^th-century design principles related to color theory and modern design, and offer a visual record of American folk craft and culture, with techniques and styles that can be traced back to their European origins.

The Goldstein Museum of Design, part of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, plans to purchase archival materials and additional storage equipment for re-housing a group of approximately 130 historically and culturally significant textiles transferred to GMD from the University Gallery (now the Weisman Art Museum) in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completion of this project would provide safer and easier access to this group of textiles. Outcomes include long-term preservation of the textiles and much-enhanced accessibility for scholarship, documentation, and exhibition, and use in university classes and outreach programs.