Museum Documents and Modern Costume' 



By .M. I). C. (' R A W F O K D 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CLARK WISSLER 



Art museums are places where the various art products of the historic nations are pre- 

 served for the inspiration and instruction of our artists. But the nonhistorie peoples of 

 the world also produced art objects which are exhibited in the anthropological collections of 

 museums dealing with the natural history of man. The primary object in preserving these 

 examples of primitive art is to instruct us as to the older forms of man's culture traits. 

 We know that the facts of primitive culture are worth while because they inspire and 

 broaden our outlook upon life. But primitive art is nevertheless art and often extremely 

 good art. The readers of this Journal are aware that textile artists have but recently 

 discovered these primitive art collections and drawn from them the greatest inspiration. 

 What they found was a great wealth of originality. Yet textile art is seldom a thing of 

 itself, usually being a mere phase of personal adornment, as costuming. We often think of 

 primitive folk as the unclothed, but that is a matter of definition. The facts are that they 

 give a great deal of attention to costume and body ornamentation, and wherever textile 

 arts flourish these are employed for the embellishment of costume. The American Museum 

 collections contain many examples of primitive costume designing that have artistic merit. 

 Their strong point is their originality. Hence, it is not strange that the costume designers 

 of our day find these collections an unfailing source of inspiration. All this suggests the 

 great potential value of a systematic Tuuseum collection of primitive arts and the justifica- 

 tion of the space and energy that have been given to such exhibitions. But, in particular, 

 this article upon costume designing in the Museum indicates how the movement for a new 

 American textile and costume art has progressed, a movement which originated in New 

 York City and which centers around the American Museum. — Clark Wissler. 



1 



jST one sense, this is frankly a fash- practical demonstration of a very im- 



ion article. It deals with practical, portant development in the costume 



modern costumes that have been industry in America, 



passed upon, executed, and placed on x4bove and beyond the artistic merit 



the market by experts. It shows not of these costumes, however, tliey illus- 



only some work of young artists, but trate in a definite manner a very im- 



expresses as well the ripened judgment ])ortant feature of the educational 



of professional designers and buyers. possibilities and public usefulness of 



For the sake of comparison, the illus- the American ]\Iuseum. Every single 



trations include a wide range of cos- garment in the collection was founded 



tume types, and the specialists who on a specimen in the collections of this 



have contributed are among the leaders Museum. In certain instances, the in- 



in their profession. In examining the spiration is perhaps difficult to trace, 



illustrations, it must be remembered but in others it is quite obvious. These 



that this article deals neither with a garments represent the first fruits of 



theory nor with a promise of the fu- what I may term "creative research" by 



ture, but with an accomplished com- the American costume industry. The 



mercial fact. It is intended as a documents in the Museum were studied 



' The sketches which accompany this article were made by Harriet Meserole, Ruth Reeves Olds, and 

 Sylverna Prior and are among the results of a campaign for the improvement of commercial design both 

 in fabrics and costumes in America conducted by Women's Wear during the last three years. In my 

 position as design editor of this publication, I have found of inestimable value the documents in the 

 collections of the American Museum and in its library. The actual work in the Museum with individuals 

 and in talks to groups of artists has been supplemented by the publication of designs and articles in 

 Women's Wear, and I take this occasion to say that the debt the American costume and fabric industries 

 owe to the American Museum of Xatural History is immense. — The Author. 



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