Dorothy Liebes papers, 1850-1973, bulk, 1922-1970

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A Finding Aid to the Dorothy Liebes Papers, circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970), in the Archives of American Art, by Catherine S. Gaines

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Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Weaver, textile designer, and businesswoman Dorothy Wright Liebes was known for distinctive textiles featuring bold color combinations and unusual textures achieved through the use of materials such as glass rods, sequins, bamboo, grass, leather, ribbon, wire, and ticker tape.

Born Dorothy Wright in Santa Rosa, California, she was the daughter of chemistry professor Frederick L. Wright and teacher Bessie Calderwood Wright. She studied art, education, and anthropology at San Jose State Teachers College and the University of California, Berkeley. During her college years, a teacher encouraged her to experiment with weaving and textile design since many of her paintings resembled textiles.

Liebes was a teacher for several years before deciding to pursue a career in textile design. She then studied weaving at Hull House in Chicago and traveled to France, Italy, Guatemala, and Mexico to learn the traditional weaving forms of those cultures. Upon her return to the United States, Liebes opened her first studio for weaving and textile design in San Francisco; Dorothy Liebes Design, Inc. was established in 1934, and eventually employed a staff of weavers.

Her first client in the industry was Goodall-Sanford Mills, with whom she worked as a consultant for more than a decade. As her client base expanded she decided to open a New York studio and maintained both studios until 1948 when she closed her San Francisco operation and relocated to New York City.

Liebes became a color and design consultant to corporations such as DuPont, Dow, and Bigelow-Sanford and tested and promoted newly developed synthetic fibers. She advised textile chemists in the development of fibers that were versatile enough to produce many different textures, and worked with engineers and technicians to develop new machines that could reproduce the irregularities of hand-loomed fabrics. Liebes became a sought-after speaker by textile industry and consumer groups, and sometimes taught workshops on color and design.

Her commissions included the United Nations Delegates Dining Room, the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the King of Saudi Arabia's traveling royal throne room. Between 1937 and 1970, Liebes participated in more than thirty solo and group exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Cranbrook Museum, Detroit Institute of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and other venues. She received prizes and awards from institutions and corporations such as Lord and Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, the Paris Exposition, the American Institute of Decorators, the American Institute of Architects and the Architectural League. She was also awarded the Elsie de Wolfe Award and an honorary degree from Mills College in 1948.

Liebes' other notable activities included her work as Director of Decorative Arts for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, and as organizer and director of "Arts and Skills," a Red Cross occupational therapy project that included training in weaving for soldiers injured in World War II. In the 1950s, she worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, journeying though the southwest to study Indian schools and show weaver tribes that horizontal looms were more advantageous than vertical ones.

Liebes was married to businessman Leon Liebes from 1928 until their divorce in 1940, and continued to use the name Liebes for the remainder of her life. In 1948, she married Pulitzer prize winning Associated Press special correspondent Relman "Pat" Morin.

During the last year of her life, Dorothy Liebes was semi-retired due to a heart ailment. She died in New York City on 10 September 1972.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The papers of weaver, textile designer, and businesswoman Dorothy Liebes are dated circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970), and comprise 21.4 linear feet. Biographical information, subject files, correspondence, writings, artwork, financial records, scrapbooks, textile samples, printed material, sound recordings, and photographs document Liebes' career and personal life. Her second husband, Associated Press Reporter Relman "Pat" Morin, is also represented in the collection, although to a much lesser extent.

Biographical material consists of awards, biographical notes, membership and identification cards, passports, and a will. Dorothy Liebes' correspondence documents her personal life and career, including the operation of her studios in San Francisco and New York City.

Subject files contain correspondence, printed material, photographs, and miscellaneous items in varying combinations. They relate to businesses, organizations, individuals, and topics of interest to Liebes.

Writings by Dorothy Liebes include notes, drafts, and manuscripts of published and unpublished writings. Artwork by Dorothy Liebes consists of designs, feather weavings, a small hooked composition, and tapestry samples. Financial records are comprised of financial summaries, investment statements, and personal and business tax returns. Thirty-three bound scrapbook volumes contain printed and publicity materials, photographs, and a small number of documents relating to Dorothy Liebes' professional achievements.

Samples consist primarily of textile swatches designed by Dorothy Liebes and printed material includes articles, exhibition catalogs, press releases, and reproductions about or mentioning Dorothy Liebes and her work, as well as reproductions of artwork.

Also found are calendars, a transcript of a 1945 interview with Liebes on Nancy Craig's radio show "Woman of Tomorrow" and a circa 1956 sound recording on 5" magnetic tape from the Milwaukee Journal Radio Station.

Photographs are of artwork (not by Liebes), people, including Liebes, Relman "Pat" Morin, and Frank Lloyd Wright, places and textiles.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

• Series 1: Biographical Information, 1934-1970 (Box 1, OV 22; 6 folders)
• Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1973 (Boxes 1-3; 2.4 linear ft.)
• Series 3: Subject Files, 1896-1971 (Boxes 3-10, 19; 7.2 linear ft.)
• Series 4: Writings, 1920-1969 (Boxes 10-11; 1.25 linear ft.)
• Series 5: Artwork, 1938-1963 (Boxes 11, 19, OV 22; 0.35 linear ft.)
• Series 6: Financial Records, 1947-1968 (Box 12; 0.25 linear ft.)
• Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1933-1970 (Box 20, BV 24-56; 3.7 linear ft.)
• Series 8: Samples, circa 1850-1855, circa 1930s-circa 1970 (Boxes 12-14, 20; 2.1 linear ft.)
• Series 9: Calendars and Interviews, 1945-1971 (Boxes 14-15; 1.45 linear ft.)
• Series 10: Printed Material, 1897-1970 (Boxes 15-16, 20-21, OV 23; 1.05 linear ft.)
• Series 11: Photographs, 1897-1970 (Boxes 16-18, 21, BV 57; 1.5 linear ft.)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

Gift of the Estate of Dorothy Liebes through Relman Morin (widower), 1972, and Ralph Higbee, 1973-1974.

How the Collection was Processed

This collection was processed to a minimal level by Catherine S. Gaines in 2006.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Dorothy Liebes papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

How to Cite this Collection

Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1934-1970 (Box 1, OV 22; 6 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1973 (Boxes 1-3; 2.4 linear ft.)

This series contains a combination of business and personal correspondence. Series 3: Subject Files, also contains large amounts of correspondence and there is substantial overlap between the two series. In addition, Series 7: Scrapbooks, includes a small number of letters and other documents.

Correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Series 3: Subject Files, 1896-1971 (Boxes 3-10, 19; 7.2 linear ft.)

Subject files may contain correspondence, printed material, photographs, and miscellaneous records in various combinations. Subjects include corporations, organizations, individuals, topics of interest to Liebes, and miscellaneous categories. Folder titles are often those supplied by Liebes.

Subject files are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Series 4: Writings, 1920-1969 (Boxes 10-11; 1.25 linear ft.)

This series is arranged as 2 subseries:

• 4.1: Writings By Dorothy Liebes, 1920-1965
• 4.2: Writings by Other Authors, 1944-1969

4.1: Writings By Dorothy Liebes, 1920-1965

This subseries includes notes, drafts, and manuscripts of published and unpublished articles and short writings. Also found here are notes, drafts and the manuscript for an unpublished autobiography, as well as an outline, notes and partial draft of an unpublished book, "Design and Weave." There are drafts, text and bibliographical material for an Encyclopedia Britannica entry on tapestry, as well as notes relating to speeches and writings.

4.2: Writings by Other Authors, 1944-1969

This subseries includes articles about Liebes from the City Art Museum, St. Louis and other unsigned sources; articles on various topics by people such as Edith Grimm, Vesta Schaffer and Iovanna Lloyd Wright; a report by Dorothy Ducas; and speeches by people such as L. R. Blackhurst, Jr., W. G. Constable, Charles Daly, Boris Kroll, Sarah Tomerlin Lee, Sara Little, George Romeny, Edward Wormley, and David L.Yunich.

Series 5: Artwork, 1938-1963 (Boxes 11, 19, OV 22; 0.35 linear ft.)

This series is arranged as 2 subseries:

• 5.1: Artwork by Dorothy Liebes, circa 1930s-circa 1960s
• 5.2: Artwork by Other Artists, 1938-1963

5.1: Artwork by Dorothy Liebes, circa 1930s-circa 1960s

Artwork by Liebes consists of designs, feather weavings, a small hooked composition, a tapestry sample and textiles. Textile samples produced by the Dorothy Liebes Studio, as well as some that may have been mass produced based on designs by Liebes, can be found in Series 8: Samples.

5.2: Artwork by Other Artists, 1938-1963

This subseries includes designs by Lawrence Colwell for interiors, furniture, and product packaging. Researchers should note that additional material concerning Colwell can be found in Series 7: Scrapbooks. Other items of note are caricatures of Liebes and a Kokemono screen.

Series 6: Financial Records, 1947-1968 (Box 12; 0.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1933-1970 (Box 20, BV 24-56; 3.7 linear ft.)

This series contains 33 bound scrapbook volumes of printed matter and publicity material, photographs, and a small number of documents relating to Liebes' professional achievements, commissions, and studio. There are also loose pages from a volume featuring the work of designer Lawrence Colwell.

Series 8: Samples, circa 1850-1855, circa 1930-circa 1970 (Boxes 12-14, 20; 2.11 linear ft.)

This series consists primarily of textile swatches designed by Liebes. The samples may have been woven by Liebes, by weavers in her studio, or been mass produced elsewhere. There are also samples of textiles from other sources, a collection of historical samples of 19th century English, French, and Viennese printed cottons mounted on sheets, and a small number of fiber and leather samples.

Series 9: Calendars and Interviews, 1945-1971 (Boxes 14-15; 1.45 linear ft.)

In addition to calendars, this series contains a sound recording on 5" magnetic tape from the Milwaukee Journal Radio Station and a transcript of an interview with Liebes on Nancy Craig's radio show, "Woman of Tomorrow."

Series 10: Printed Material, 1897-1970 (Boxes 15-16, 20-21, OV 23; 1.05 linear ft.)

Printed material consists of articles, exhibition catalogs, press releases, reproductions, and miscellaneous items about or mentioning Dorothy Liebes and her work, and topics of interest to her, such as weavers and weaving, the textile industry, art and design.

Additional printed material can be found in Series 3: Subject Files and Series 7: Scrapbooks.

Series 11: Photographs, 1897-1970 (Boxes 16-18, 21, BV 57; 1.5 linear ft.)

This series contains photographs of artwork (not by Liebes); people including Liebes, Relman "Pat" Morin, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many unidentified individuals and groups; places such as travel destinations; textiles and miscellaneous subjects. Color slides, transparencies, and negatives can also be found here.

Additional photographs can be found in many of the files in Series 3: Subject Files, and some of the volumes in Series 7: Scrapbooks.

This series is arranged as 6 subseries:

• 11.1: Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1970s
• 11.2: People, 1897-1970
• 11.3: Places, 1937-1941
• 11.4: Textiles, 1936-1967
• 11.5: Miscellaneous Subjects, 1940s
• 11.6: Color Slides, Color Transparencies, and Negatives, 1939-1947

11.1: Artwork, undated

Found here are prints of photos of artwork by Leger, Murany, Picasso, Cunliffe, Gabo, Guino and unidentified artists.

11.2: People, 1897-1970

11.3: Places, 1937-1941

11.4: Textiles, 1936-1967

This subseries contains photographs of Liebes exhibition installations at various venues, garments made from Liebes fabric and interiors and window displays featuring textiles by Liebes. There is also an album of interiors featuring Liebes textiles.

11.5: Miscellaneous Subjects, 1940s

11.6: Color Slides, Color Transparencies, and Negatives, 1939-1947