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Overview – A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes
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aria-expanded="false"> <span class="hamburger__line hamburger__line--1"></span> <span class="hamburger__line hamburger__line--2"></span> <span class="hamburger__line hamburger__line--3"></span> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <main id="application-wrapper" class="application-wrapper" tabindex="0"> <div class="site-container page-content"> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8 order-1 order-md-0"> <h1 class="jumbo text-uppercase mb-3">A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes</h1> <div class="default-styles medium-body-text mb-8"> <p>Designer and weaver Dorothy Liebes (1897–1972), who introduced handcraft and brilliant color to the modern interior, was among the most influential designers of the 20th century. This digital platform explores how the “<a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=3#all-pages">Liebes Look</a>”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic. Choose a topic to explore her impact on mid-20th-century <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=8#all-pages">interiors</a>, <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=6#all-pages">fashion</a>, <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=6#all-pages">film</a>, and <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=5#all-pages">industrial design</a>, and meet some of the <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/overview/?category=7#all-pages">studio weavers</a> who contributed to the success of the Dorothy Liebes Studio.</p> </div> <div id="post-journey-items-wrapper" class="row"> <div id="post-journey-items" class="col" data-ajax-link="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=sandbox_get_journey"> <div style="min-height: 191px;"> <h2 class="h2-display text-uppercase">Your journey so far</h2> <div class="mt-2">Loading...</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row small-gutters mt-8 mb-3" name="all-pages" data-smooth-scroll-immediate="true"> <div class="col"> <h2 class="h2-display text-uppercase">All pages</h2> <div class="small-body-text"> <span class="highlight-indicator"></span>Your journey so far </div> </div> </div> <div class="row small-gutters"> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/category/better-better/" class="col-12 category-grid-item-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="5" data-journey-trackable-type="category"> <div class="category-grid-item-link__inner position-relative"> <div class="category-grid-item__name-wrapper d-flex flex-column align-items-center justify-content-center text-center p-3"> <div class="category-grid-item__name h2-display text-uppercase pt-2">Better & Better for Less & Less</div> </div> </div> <div class="medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title></div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/kashmir-for-pomona-tile/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="98" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/IL2021.27.16-1-1-scaled-e1683840144411-1000x959.jpg" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/IL2021.27.16-1-1-scaled-e1683840144411.jpg"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>“Kashmir” for Pomona Tile</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/american-airlines/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="417" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/AA-Liebes-1-995x1000.png" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/AA-Liebes-1.png"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>American Airlines</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/bigelow-sanford-custom-carpets/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="625" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-10-at-7.22.45-PM.png" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-10-at-7.22.45-PM.png"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>Bigelow-Sanford Custom Carpets</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/carol-stanley/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="330" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/DE-Carol-Stanley-fig-1-750x1000.jpeg" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/DE-Carol-Stanley-fig-1.jpeg" data-caption="<p><strong> Fig. 1</strong> Model in the Dorothy Liebes Studio in front of Liebes’s Ram’s Head loom, seated on a Liebes cushion and wearing a Dorothy Liebes for Carol Stanley woven shawl, as photographed for Carol Stanley, 1948; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC </p>"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>Carol Stanley</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/chrysler-plymouth-fury/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="111" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/Penick_6B.jpg" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/Penick_6B.jpg" data-caption="<p><strong> Fig. 1</strong> Chrysler Plymouth Fury, 1957; Chrysler Archives </p>"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>Chrysler Plymouth Fury</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/dupont-pavilion/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="336" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/MAD-1973_2_11-789x1000.jpg" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/06/MAD-1973_2_11-scaled.jpg" data-caption="<p><strong> Fig. 1</strong> Prototype curtain for Blue Theater, DuPont Pavilion, New York World’s Fair, 1964; DuPont Orlon and Fairtex metallic yarn; Museum of Arts &amp; Design, Gift of Dorothy Liebes Design through the American Craft Council, 1973.2.11 </p>"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>DuPont Pavilion</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/goodall/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="740" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/07/Screen-Shot-2023-07-18-at-1.41.30-AM-907x1000.png" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/07/Screen-Shot-2023-07-18-at-1.41.30-AM.png"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>Goodall Fabrics</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/kenwood-blankets/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="81" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-06-27-at-1.03.55-AM-988x1000.png" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-06-27-at-1.03.55-AM.png" data-caption="<p><strong>Fig. 1</strong> Dorothy Liebes, Design for a Blanket, 1952; Graphite and gouache collage on paper; Dorothy Liebes Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC </p>"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>Kenwood Blankets</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> <a href="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/united-wallpaper/" class="col-6 col-md-4 col-xl-3 opacity-link mb-6" data-journey-trackable-id="733" data-journey-trackable-type="post"> <div class="background-image landscape-image-tall background-image lazy-image lazyload" style="background-image: url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==);" data-bg="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/07/Screen-Shot-2023-07-18-at-1.26.16-AM-1000x958.png" data-src-full="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/07/Screen-Shot-2023-07-18-at-1.26.16-AM.png"></div> <h3 class="post-grid-item__title medium-title theme-foreground-color text-shadow mt-2" data-journey-trackable-title><p>United Wallpaper</p> </h3> <div class="post-grid-item__labels tiny-title" style="margin-top: 2px;"> Better & Better for Less & Less, Essay </div> </a> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-4 order-0 order-md-0 mb-3 md-md-0"> <div id="header__sidebar" class="header__sidebar mb-4"> <nav id="header__nav" class="header__nav large-body-text text-uppercase" data-page-path="https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/about-the-exhibition/"> <div class="menu-main-menu-container"><ul 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