Marion Mahler (1911-1983) Austrian born had trained at the Kuntgewerbeschule in Vienna 1929-32) and at the Royal State Academy, with some of her early designs being produced by the Wiener Werkstatte. She arrived in Britain in 1937 as Marianne Mahler and worked as a free-lance, having supplied leading firms with her designs before the war. During the early 1950's she produced many designs for David Whitehead's Contemporary Prints, Britain's most dynamic printed textile company. Based in Rawtenstall, Lancashire by 1948 the company was directed by architect Dr John Murray, whose ambition was to establish the Company in the forefront of contemporary design and to make good designs available on the mass market. He wrote an article on his philosophy The cheap need not be cheap and nasty which was published in Design , Dec 1950. Twenty of their designs were chosen to be displayed at the Festival of Britain andon the SS Campania, the touring ship of the fesitval.
This has been made into a curtain but could easily be unpicked for a hanging. Great design
each with a repeat of rounded squares filled with a village scene of s cluster of houses and trees, the rounded rectangles with a knarled tree, all in soft grey, yellow, terracotta and black on a soft seagreen ground printed with small leaf sprigs, selvedge to selvedge with turnings, 33 x 64 in; 85 x 1.65 cm drop.
The right hand side has 2 1/2 in or 6 cm slight fading.
Jackson, Lesley 20th Century Pattern Design. Textile & Wallpaper Pioneers. p 101.
Peat, Alan David Whitehead Ltd. Artist Designed Textiles 1952-1969.
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