Marianne Straub
Marianne Straub | |
---|---|
Born | Amriswil, Switzerland | 23 September 1909
Died | 8 November 1994[1] | (aged 85)
Occupation(s) | Textile designer, academic |
Notable credit(s) | Royal Designer for Industry (1972); Misha Black Medal (1993), OBE[3] |
Marianne Straub OBE (23 September 1909 – 8 November 1994) was one of the leading commercial designers of textiles in Britain in the period from the 1940s to 1960s. She said her overriding aim was: "to design things which people could afford. ... To remain a handweaver did not seem satisfactory in this age of mass-production".[4]
Linda Parry, curator of modern textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum, described her in 1990 as one of two or three British artists who used their great ability to serve industry.[4]
Although she became a leading name in industrial design – creating upholstery for everything from London Underground to BEA aircraft – she almost always developed her ideas on a handloom before applying her technical knowhow to their manufacture. She believed that if more designers tried out their ideas first, there would be fewer bad results.[4]
Early life and studies
Marianne Straub was born in the village of
She moved to
Move into industry
After finishing her course she was invited to work at Ethel Mairet's Gospels studio at Ditchling where she developed her hand loom techniques.[6] In return, she introduced a variety of double cloth weaves to the studio and developed a firm friendship with Mairet.[1][7]
Straub then began working as a consultant designer for the Welsh milling industry, advising 72 mills that were supported by the Rural Industries Bureau between 1934–7 and learning the skills of mass production.[1][8] In 1937 she joined the firm of Helios, a subsidiary of Barlow & Jones as head designer, becoming managing director in 1947.[6][8]
In 1950, Straub joined the firm of Warner & Sons in Braintree, Essex, and remained associated with the firm until 1970.[1]
One of her most famous early designs for Warner was Surrey, a textile that featured in the Festival of Britain in 1951 and was used in the Regatta Restaurant. Based on the crystalline structure of afwillite, it was chosen as representative of textiles of the early post-war period.[4][9]
Great Bardfield Artists
In 1953, Straub moved to the north-west Essex village of
Work from the 1960s
While Straub continued to work with Warner until 1970, she was also enlisted by Isabel Tisdall to create designs for the newly launched venture Tamesa Fabrics from 1964 – all designs were manufactured by Warner.[10][11][12] Aimed firmly at the contract and commercial market, Tamesa was highly successful in introducing alternatives to the prevailing fashion for bold pattern, instead focusing on texture, tone and high-specification fabrics.[11][12] Designs from the Tamesa range were to feature on everything from the QE2 to BEA's Trident aircraft – Straub was responsible for many of them, including the Trident seatcovers.[4][10]
London Transport commission
Straub was also among the designers used to create the livery for
Academic work
Straub's work was already well respected by 1952, when she spoke at the international craft conference held at Dartington Hall and argued for the preservation of knowledge among the crafts community.[1]
She became an influential textile teacher, combining work with Warner with teaching at
On retirement in 1970, she left Great Bardfield and moved to Cambridge.[4] She continued to maintain her interest in cloth and weaving in retirement. In a letter to curator, academic and author Mary Schoeser some three months before her death, Straub described her design process. "Whilst thinking of the new cloth, I think of its weight, its draping qualities, the handle; I see it in colours...The essence of the whole exercise is to place the cloth, in my imagination, into the situation in which it will be used."[1]
Awards
Straub was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 1972. In 1993, she received the Sir Misha Black Medal. She was a member of the Red Rose Guild[15] and also a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (SIAD) and was appointed an OBE for services to textile weaving.[6]
Publications
- Straub, Marianne (1977). Hand Weaving and Cloth Design. Pelham. OCLC 632904298.
References
- ^ ISBN 0719050588.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55761. Retrieved 15 September 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Past Royal Designers". rsa.org. RSA. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Andreae, Christopher (7 August 1990). "Creating artwork to sit upon". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Dr Marianne Straub RDI". Sir Misha Black Awards. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Dr Marianne Straub". University of Brighton Design Archives. University of Brighton. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Ethel Mairet". University of Brighton. University of Brighton Faculty of Arts. Archived from the original on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Straub, Marianne (1909–1994)". arts.ac.uk. Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Surrey". V&A. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b Schoeser, Mary (12 October 2007). "Isabel Tisdall". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9781568983332. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ a b Duckett, Margaret (September 1968). "Return of the Weave". Design. No. 237. pp. 34–7. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014 – via VADS.
- ^ "Poster of the Week: Extension of the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow". London Transport Museum. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "About moquette". The Shop. London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ISBN 0850721539.
Further reading
- Salisbury, Martin, ed. (2003). Artists at the Fry: Art and Design in the North West Essex Collection. Cambridge: Ruskin Press. ISBN 9780953781027.
- Schoeser, Mary (1984). Marianne Straub. London: The Design Council. ISBN 0-85072-153-9.
- Spalding, Frances (2010). The Women of Bardfield (exhibition catalogue). Fry Art Gallery; Saffron Walden. OCLC 898532766.