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A Dark, A Light, A Bright

The Designs of Dorothy Liebes
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Dark, A Light, A Bright is the first major publication dedicated to Dorothy Liebes, an influential American weaver and designer of the twentieth century. Celebrated as "the greatest modern weaver and the mother of the twentieth-century palette," Liebes created a distinctive style known as the “Liebes Look,” characterised by unusual materials, rich textures, and vibrant colours. The book, published in association with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, presents extensive research, full-colour reproductions, and essays exploring major milestones in Liebes's career, including her collaborations with renowned architects and designers, innovations in textile design, and her impact on modern interior and fashion design.
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Format: Hardback
$9599
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for enthusiasts of textile design, modern art, and interior decoration, as well as those interested in the history of twentieth-century American design and the role of pioneering women artists.

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The first major publication devoted to weaver and designer Dorothy Liebes, reinstating her as one of the most influential American designers of the twentieth century

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The first major publication devoted to weaver and designer Dorothy Liebes, reinstating her as one of the most influential American designers of the twentieth century.

At the time of her death, Dorothy Liebes (1897–1972) was called “the greatest modern weaver and the mother of the twentieth-century palette.” As a weaver, she developed a distinctive combination of unusual materials, lavish textures, and brilliant colours that came to be known as the “Liebes Look.” Yet despite her prolific career and recognition during her lifetime, Liebes is today considerably less well known than the men with whom she often collaborated, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Dreyfuss, and Edward Durrell Stone. Her legacy also suffered due to the inability of the black-and-white photography of the period to represent her richly coloured and textured works.

Extensively researched and illustrated with full-colour, accurate reproductions, this important publication examines Liebes’s widespread impact on twentieth-century design. Essays explore major milestones of her career, including her close collaborations with major interior designers and architects to create custom textiles, the innovative and experimental design studio where she explored new and unusual materials, her use of fabrics to enhance interior lighting, and her collaborations with fashion designers, including Clare Potter and Bonnie Cashin. Ultimately, this book reinstates Liebes at the pinnacle of modern textile design alongside such recognised figures as Anni Albers and Florence Knoll.

Published in association with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Exhibition Schedule:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
(July 7, 2023–February 4, 2024)

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

"[Dorothy Liebes] has all the elements of a 20th-century design legend, but she isn’t a household name yet. This exhibition, and its handsome accompanying monograph, will surely change that." —Sarah Archer, T List, New York Times T Magazine

"Textile designer Dorothy Liebes emphasized tactility, luminousness, and contrast by combining natural and synthetic fibres in neon shades. This book, with essays by seven experts and a comprehensive biographical timeline, accompanies a retrospective. Ms. Liebes, although underappreciated now, practically blanketed the world with products while battling corporate misogyny." —Eve M. Kahn, New York Times

"Enclosed in a dark green, cloth-covered case binding with an electric lime-colored serif font and aqua-teal end papers (a nod to Liebes’s penchant for analogous colours), a generous selection of lush, full-page close-ups display her weavings in tremendous detail. With thorough and caring scholarship, this volume reinstates Liebes's pivotal role in modern textile design."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300266153

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 23 May 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Illustration: 175 color + 50 b-w illus.

Contributors:

  • Edited by Alexa Griffith Winton
  • Edited by Susan Brown
  • Contributions by John Stuart Gordon
  • Contributions by Emily M Orr
  • Contributions by Monica Penick
  • Contributions by Erica Warren
  • Contributions by Leigh Wishner
  • Contributions by Erica Warren

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 203.0mm

Height: 254.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 256

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Non-Fiction

About the Author

Susan Brown is associate curator and acting head of textiles at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian American Design Museum. Alexa Griffith Winton, manager of content and curriculum at Cooper Hewitt, is a design historian and leading Liebes scholar.

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