Crosspatch

DATE - 1947

Charles and Ray separately entered The Competition for Printed Fabrics sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art in 1947. The museum’s Department of Industrial Design organized the contest with jurors including architect Marcel Breuer, the Managing Editor of ART NEWS, and directors of multiple MoMA departments. Out of nearly 2,500 entries, four winners and fifteen honorable mentions were awarded cash prizes, a traveling exhibition, and the production of the textiles.

Additional Information

Ray’s entry consisted of “Crosspatch” and “Sea Things.” Charles coordinated and submitted an entry in collaboration with Alexander Girard and Eero Saarinen. Ray won an honorable mention and $50 for Crosspatch. It was exhibited at MoMA in the Printed Textiles for the Home exhibition from March through June of 1947. As promised, the textiles toured to various museum institutions and was distributed by 19 selected retail stores throughout the country.

In 1950, the design was produced and marketed as a textile by Schiffer of New York City and exhibited at the Good Design Is Your Business show in Chicago. Crosspatch was unfortunately never produced in its original six colors.

Lucia Eames and Mary Murphy of Maharam resurrected the pattern from Ray’s original drawings and transformed into a rayon/polyester textile in 1999. The square-and-x-patterned design is still produced and loved today.

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