Dorothy Wright Liebes was an American textile designer and weaver renowned for her innovative, custom-designed modern fabrics for architects and interior designers.
17 Facts About Dorothy Liebes
2.
Dorothy Liebes was known as "the mother of modern weaving".
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Dorothy Liebes bought a small portable loom and taught herself how to weave.
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In 1935, Dorothy Liebes met architect Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
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In 1942, Dorothy Liebes moved her studio in San Francisco to 545 Sutter Street.
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Dorothy Liebes relocated full-time to New York City in 1948.
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Dorothy Liebes's fabrics were known for their bold color combinations and interesting textures, and often used unexpected materials such as feathers, plastics, metallics, jute, ticker tape, leather strips, and bamboo.
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Dorothy Liebes's textiles were used in airplanes, ocean liners, theatres and hotels.
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Dorothy Liebes was excited and inspired by these possibilities, especially the innovative ways in which they could be worked and manipulated.
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In contrast to the neutral palette of many of her modernist contemporaries, Dorothy Liebes is well known for her unexpected use of materials, vibrant color and pattern.
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Dorothy Liebes had a penchant for combining seemingly mismatched colors in a cohesive, visually pleasing manner.
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Dorothy Liebes was a talented weaver, but she was a sharp businesswoman who believed that mass-produced textiles could reach wider audiences, regardless of client budgets.
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Dorothy Liebes was a design consultant for companies such as DuPont, Dow, Bigelow-Sanford, and Goodall Fabrics of Sanford, Maine.
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From 1955 to 1971 Dorothy Liebes acted as DuPont's home furnishings consultant.
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Dorothy Liebes was one of the first recipients of the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award at their launch in 1938.
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Dorothy Liebes died in New York City on September 20,1972.
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Dorothy Liebes's work is held in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art, and the Phoebe A Hearst Museum of Anthropology at University of California, Berkeley.