Textile Samples c. 1939

Editor: Here we have Paul Kelly’s "Textile Samples," made around 1939. It looks to be a mixed-media work on paper featuring some fibre-art textiles. I’m intrigued by the colors. What catches your eye? Curator: Considering the period, around 1939, I immediately think about the rise of industrial design and the importance placed on accessible art in the United States. The work seems simple, perhaps a study, but remember this era in textile design; mass production was meeting an increased public desire for accessible style. Do you see a connection there? Editor: I do, yes! I guess I was viewing it just as “art,” but it's interesting to think about it as design meeting art for a wider market. The colors and patterns feel almost like early prototypes. Curator: Exactly. Consider how art institutions were starting to display functional items to elevate them. These "samples" become artifacts, indicative of a shifting cultural perspective. Perhaps it speaks to democratizing good design. Where before it would have been unique handcrafted things only for the elite, it was slowly changing for access for other people. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. So, even a piece that seems relatively simple like this connects to bigger conversations about art, industry, and society. Thanks for sharing this context with me. Curator: Precisely. This makes the mundane very profound, reflecting complex social and economic currents, and how the museum itself participated in elevating those.