Dear Lace Collectors, This is about connecting dots (but not about lace patterns, threads and pins).
The May-June "Embroidery" magazine has arrived from The Embroiderers' Guild (England), and there is a 2-page article titled "The Fabric of Dreams - Matisse: His Art and His Textiles". Matisse was from a weaving family. The art historian Hilary Spurling has researched the subject of Matisse's collection and has come to the conclusion "textiles were in his blood". What does that mean to the lace community? Well, he had a huge influence on the art-collecting habits of the Cone sisters of Baltimore, where an exhibit of their laces is on display until October 2 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The story of the sisters: "The Art of Acquiring - A Portrait of Etta & Claribel Cone" by Mary Gabriel has already been reviewed by me on Arachne. Of 3,000 items in the Cone collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art, there are about 500 by Matisse, and it is quite clear that he was Etta's favorite artist-friend. The 470,000 cubic feet of exhibit space in the Cone wing is able to contain/show only about 4 percent of the collection at any one time. This sheds light on why the Cone lace collection has not been shown before. Logically, it will not be seen again in most of our lifetimes. There are only 3 references, I believe, to lace in this book. It claims the art collection's value in 2002 was thought to be nearly $1-billion. We would have to admit the monetary value of the laces within that number would be a small fraction of the total! Now, we have word of the exhibit at the Royal Academy of the Arts (until May 30) of Matisse's working library of fabrics, curtains and costumes which had been hidden away in family trunks and cupboards for more than 50 years. Concurrently, the Cone laces had been hidden away at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The article says the Matisse exhibit is next coming to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it can be viewed from June 23 to September 25, 2005. The Embroiderers' Guild review refers to the wide range of textiles Matisse collected, and those that appeared in his paintings (some of which are in the Cone book - in color). The EG review is illustrated with 5 color photographs: a French toile de jouy, embroidered Romanian peasant blouse, Turkish woman's robe, North African pierced and appliqued hanging, plus a painting "Decorative Figure on an Ornamental Background - 1926". The reviewer says the show reveals textiles as an intrinsic element previously neglected in the analysis of this much-studied artist, and now Matisse's love of textiles is set to take center stage in the reassessment of one of modern art's greatest founding fathers. The catalog by Spurling "Matisse, His Art and His Textiles: The Fabric of Dreams" was published by Royal Academy Publications in 2004, 0-9039734-6-5, hardback, 40 pounds (probably around $75-$80 in U.S.) The big question is whether there is any lace in his collection? This book may already be in the bookshops of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Arachneans: You probably like the possibility that Matisse influenced the Cone sisters in their collecting of textiles, and possibly even lace! They appear to have been the shoppers to surpass all other shoppers! Proves what can be done. It did not hurt, in this case, to be spinsters. They simply ignored male family members who questioned how they spent inherited wealth. Spelling differences: Spurling's first name is "Hillary" in the Cone book, and "Hilary" in EG magazine. Jeri Ames in Maine Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
