CREATIVE TEXTILE ART AM) THE AMERICAN Mf'SECM 



exports of peace, onee the shipment of 

 munitions ceases. It is essential to tlie 

 success of a great part of this business 

 that the product he typical of our ar- 

 tistic, as Avell as of our industrial de- 

 velopment. If we are only copyists we 

 can never be serious competitors. 



Bringing the industry, the artist, 

 and the American Museum into closer 

 relation has been a personal campaign,^ 

 the actual details of which were di- 

 vided among lecture courses, personal 

 visits by the artists and the responsible 

 men in the industry to the Museum, 

 and by a design contest (conducted by 

 Women's Wear), in which designs sub- 

 mitted from all over the country liad 

 to have museum material for inspira- 

 tion. This design contest developed 

 many artists who have since been suc- 

 cessful in the industry, and through it 

 first learned how to use a museum in 

 their work.^ During the last few 

 months, Saturday afternoons have been 

 given over to the technical instruction 

 of an ever-increasing group of design- 

 ers, who in this way become familiar 

 not only witli the problems of the in- 

 dustry, but also with the collections in 

 our exhibition halls. 



The first man to visit the Museum 

 as a representative of the industry was 

 Mr. E. Irving Hanson, of H. E. Mal- 

 liuson & Co. At the beginning of the 

 campaign, Mr. Hanson visited the 

 Peruvian collection in order to get 

 some ideas for making his silks more 

 beautiful. He was an immediate con- 

 vert to the suggestion, and many of the 

 designs on his famous Khaki-Kool fal)- 

 ric were inspired by the beautiful 

 thino's he saw. 



' In this movement I have been greatly aided by 

 Mr. Albert Blum, treasurer of the United Piece 

 Dye Works, and by the publicity circulated among 

 the industry through the columns of Women's 

 Wear. 



- A list of names of these artists is kc]jt oi)en to 

 the industry. 



The visit that Johnson, Cowdin 

 and Company's organization made to 

 the Museum was typical of the proper 

 way of approach : Mr. MacLaren, busi- 

 ness manager, Mr. Jacobs, mill expert, 

 and Mr. Emil Speck, designer, came 

 together. Mr. MacLaren wished to de- 

 termine whether tlie claims T had made 



Striking designs inspired by the Peruvian and 



Koryak collections of the American Museum. The 



samples of heavy silk embodying them were fur- 

 nished by Cheney Brothers 



to him concerning these collections 

 were based on fact ; Mr. Jacobs came to 

 see whether such ideas could be devel- 

 oped on the loom; Mr. Speck came to 

 convert the documents he saw into mod- 

 ern designs. ]\Ir. Speck was and is a 

 constant visitor to the collections, and 

 the beautiful ribbons shown in the 

 color illustrations are the result of his 

 research in the ]\hiseum and his skill as 

 a designer. These concerns have made 

 it possible for the American woman to 

 portray in her costume the great ai'ts 

 of the Xew World. 



A scarcely less constant visitor to the 



