In celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, June Object of the Week posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. A version of this post was originally published on June 20, 2016. May Morris will forever be in the shadow of her famous father William Morris, the chief protagonist of the English Arts and Crafts movement,...
Now on view in The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s, this vase by Dagobert Peche is an explosion of movement and life.
Upon his return from military service in Europe in 1919, Henry Varnum Poor settled in an artists’ community in New City, New York where he purchased land and began single-handedly building a home called Crow House, named after the local birds who kept him company while he worked. As a struggling painter Poor was always...
Lucy Martin Lewis learned to make pottery from her great-Aunt and other women living in Sky City, a remote three hundred foot high sandstone mesa in Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. Until the middle of the twentieth century, the community had no plumbing and pottery jars were necessary for hauling essentials to the waterless mesa. Pottery...
May Morris will forever be in the shadow of her famous father William Morris, the chief protagonist of the English Arts and Crafts movement, and of her mother, the Pre-Raphaelite beauty Jane Burden. Yet she was an accomplished artist in her own right, a fact evidenced by the skillful design and craftsmanship of this cushion...
Gertrud and Otto Natzler were leading figures of West Coast ceramic production in the mid-twentieth century. This bowl, as well as two other Natzler pieces, were donated by the granddaughter of the original owner, Friederich Rotter, who met the Natzlers in the 1930s through his Vienna-based home furnishings business and gallery, Der Wohnraum that sold...
Public Lecture: Join us as Ralph Rucci talks about his creative process, inspiration, and the role of the hand in his work. About the Design by Hand series: Launched in fall 2013 with the iconic Finnish brand Marimekko, the Design by Hand series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers. Special...
An early, French-made sidewall reminiscent of the pleasant cliches of a romance in France. A warm, chocolate-colored background sets off lovely, lush pink roses in full bloom. The burgeoning blossoms grow from impossibly delicate vines, profuse with perfect little green leaves livened up by touches of pale pink and yellow. Smaller white blooms flutter about...
See how paper is made by hand in this short video. Paper maker and educator Amy Jacobs demonstrates the basics of this technique at Dieu Donné papermill in Manhattan. This paper making project took about 3 hours of active work, plus about 48 hours of air-drying. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new Cooper...
See how ceramics are made in this short video. Gil Grimmett shows how to create a basic project on the pottery wheel at Clayworks on Columbia in Brooklyn, New York. This piece took about 4 hours of active work, plus about 72 hours of air-drying and kiln-firing. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new...
See how bobbin lace is made in this short video. Ellyane Hutchinson demonstrates a basic lacemaking project at the Textile Arts Center’s Brooklyn facility. This lace making project took about 9 hours total. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new Cooper Hewitt video series that vividly illustrates a wide variety of creative techniques. Covering...
See how weaving works in this short video. Weaver Cynthia Alberto demonstrates a simple weaving project using a standard floor loom. She is working at Weaving Hand, the studio she founded in Brooklyn, New York City. This scarf took about 8 hours total to weave. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new Cooper Hewitt...
Seagull brooch, Paris, France, 1926. Promotional video from the Set in Style: Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition.
Sycamore Leaf Broach, Paris, France, 1951 Promotional video from the Set in Style: Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition.
