“One of the most promising newcomers in the highly competitive field of fabric design is a youthful, multi-talented New Yorker, Joel Robinson,” Ebony magazine proclaimed in 1952.[1] Robinson’s printed fabric Ovals had been shown that winter in The Museum of Modern Art’s 1951 Good Design exhibition, making him the first African American to be included...

The use of common, mundane materials creates a contemporary rendering of a traditional pattern in this wallpaper. “Barbed Wire” creates a window pane plaid design by the crossing of wires at right angles. The plaid design, a common wallpaper motif with collection examples dating back to the early nineteenth century, has been interpreted in a...

I have always enjoyed seeing this kitchen paper with its coffee pot, luncheon service printed over the fun plaid background pattern. It is just so perky and the use of complementary colors and gestural strokes give the design a nice energy and keep it from feeling stagnant. Printed in 1948, it still looks modern today....