Outdoor Sports and Pastimes (Furnishing Fabric)
c. 1790
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; copperplate printed
Dimensions
200.7 × 141 cm (79 × 55 1/2 in.)
Classification
weaving - printed
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
14392
Art Historical Context
Francis Hayman’s *Outdoor Sports and Pastimes* is a striking example of late eighteenth-century British furnishing fabric. Created around 1790 on cotton plain weave using the copperplate printing technique, the large panel—measuring over six feet tallfeatures lively scenes of leisure. Hayman, a founding member of the Royal Academy and a leading figure in the Rococo-influenced decorative arts, brought his skill for narrative composition to textile design, transforming everyday pastimes into elegant, repeatable patterns suitable for curtains or upholstery. Copperplate printing, newly refined in...