ST. LOUIS, October 8, 2024—The Saint Louis Art Museum’s upcoming textile exhibition will highlight recent acquisitions of post-World War II textiles, all made during the height of experimental screenprinting in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
“Bolts of Color: Printed Textiles after WWII” opens Friday, Nov. 8 with a public celebration from 4-7 pm in the museum’s Sculpture Hall.
Screenprinting, which first rose to prominence in the 1930s, fostered aesthetic and technical experimentation. A bridge between handcraft and industry, it was fast, inexpensive and easy to set up, facilitating small print runs and customization. Throughout the following decades, advances in screenprinting allowed designers to realize patterned fabrics with an unparalleled depth of color, texture and precision.
“Kaleidoscopic,” “blazing” and “avant-garde” are just a few of the adjectives postwar journalists used to describe the textiles of the era. Whether hand printed in small studios or mass manufactured, the textiles featured in “Bolts of Color” bubble with a creative energy shared by a growing consumer base who embraced bold interiors and fashions.
Featuring works by well-known artists like Rockwell Kent and Lucio Fontana and trailblazing designers like Althea McNish, Shirley Craven and Joel Robinson, “Bolts of Color” considers the surprising role of the textile industry in whetting the public’s appetite for contemporary art and avant-garde design.
“Bolts of Color” is curated by Genevieve Cortinovis, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Associate Curator of Decorative Arts and Design with research assistant Sarah Berg. It’s on view through April 20, 2025, in the Carolyn C. and William A. McDonnell Gallery 100.
CONTACT: Molly Morris, 314.655.5250, molly.morris@slam.org
Althea McNish, English (born Trinidad), 1924–2020; Golden Harvest Textile, 1959; screen-printed cotton; 76 × 50 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh 41:2021
Press images
Click on any the images in this gallery to download.
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Rockwell Kent, American, 1882–1971; “Harvest Time Textile,” c.1950; printed cotton and rayon; 70 3/4 × 45 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh 28:2016
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Oscar Saccorotti, Italian, 1898–1986; “Goats (Capre) Textile,” c.1948; printed cotton; 54 × 72 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the Italian Government 31:2019
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Lucio Fontana, Italian (born Argentina), 1899–1968; “Concetto spaziale,” 1954; screen-printed cotton sateen; 94 1/2 × 53 1/8 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Marjorie Wyman Endowment Fund 39:2023
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A. Joel Robinson, American, 1915–2012; “Glen Plaid Textile Sample,” 1952; screen-printed linen; 24 × 34 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Marjorie Wyman Endowment Fund 105:2022
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A. Joel Robinson, American, 1915–2012; “Roman Candles Textile,” 1951–52; printed linen; 72 × 50 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Marjorie Wyman Endowment Fund 12:2020
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Gretl Wollner, Austrian, 1920–2006; and Leo Wollner, Austrian, 1925–1995; made by Pausa AG, German, 1911–2001; distributed by Knoll International, New York, 1969–1990; “Rivers,” c.1972; printed cotton velvet; 48 1/2 x 122 inches; (Cora Ginsburg LLC on behalf of Private Collector)
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Althea McNish, English (born Trinidad), 1924–2020; Painted Desert, 1959; screenprinted cotton; 104 × 50 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh 42:2021
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Althea McNish, English (born Trinidad), 1924–2020; Golden Harvest Textile, 1959; screen-printed cotton; 76 × 50 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Richard Brumbaugh Trust in memory of Richard Irving Brumbaugh and Grace Lischer Brumbaugh 41:2021
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Also on view in St. Louis this fall
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, all on view September 6-February 9, 2025
Great Rivers Biennial 2024: Saj Issa, Basil Kincaid, Ronald Young
Shinichi Sawada: Agents of Clay
Ad Minoliti: Manifestación pluriversal
Charles Atlas: Painting by Numbers
glyneisha, Shadows of Her Windows: Dreams of the Black Interior
Annual Teen Studio Art ExhibitionLaumeier Sculpture Park
Monika Weiss: Metamorphosis (Sound Sculpture), August 24-December 15Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
“When I’m 64”: Artists in Their Later Years, August 28-December 30
Design Agendas: Modern Architecture in St. Louis, 1930s-1970s, September 13-January 6, 2025Pulitzer Arts Foundation, both on view September 6-February 2, 2025
Scott Burton: Shape Shift
Brendan Fernandes: In Two
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, all on view September 6-February 9, 2025
