Lotus
Design by 1888, made 1888
Medium
Silk, warp-float faced twill weave; embroidered in satin and stem stitches
Dimensions
Overall: 263.9 × 120.9 cm (103 7/8 × 47 5/8 in.); Embroidery: 257.2 × 113 cm (101 1/4 × 44 1/2 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
74514
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Frances Glessner was an avid embroiderer and made a number of decorative textiles for her house on Prairie Avenue. This large panel, which was a door curtain or portiere, was one of four such curtains used in the parlor of the house. In a diary entry of November 17, 1888, she wrote, “My curtains came home from the Decorative Arts Society,” which makes it clear that the design was purchased from Morris & Co. but embroidered in Chicago by members of the Decorative Arts Society, probably supervised...