The Autry National Center is hosting California’s Designing Women, 1896 – 1986, an exhibition of more than 200 examples of textiles, ceramics, furniture, lighting, jewelry, clothing, and graphics by 46 female designers. The program opens on August 10 and runs through January 6, 2013.
Functional and decorative objects, from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco to Mid-century Modern, highlight women in the often male-dominated field of commercial design and fine crafts. “It is remarkable to see the vast amount of influence California women designers had on the look of everyday life as they brought their ideas, ingenuity, and bold concepts to the American home,” says Daniel Finley, president and CEO of the Autry. “Through times of scarcity, war, and prosperity, women designers adapt their work and materials to fit the needs of the public in fascinating and original ways.”
Among the featured women designers are copper workers Elizabeth Eaton Burton and Lillian Palmer; multi-disciplinarians Ray Eames and Dorothy Thorpe; potters Gertrud Natzler and Beatrice Wood; mid-century furniture designer Greta Magnusson Grossman; and textile and housewares designer Gere Kavanaugh. Guest Bill Stern curates the exhibition.
To learn more, visit theautry.org.
