Tawney created Little River for Wall Hangings, a 1969 MoMA exhibition showcasing the work of preeminent contemporary fiber artists. The free-hanging display emphasizes its three-dimensionality and highlights the contrast between solid and void in the weaving’s construction. Tawney's use of the open-warp technique, which leaves vertical slits in the weave (disrupting the concept of a textile as a flat and continuously woven surface), was influenced in part by her study of gauzy pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles. The linear quality of this and many of her weavings reflects Tawney’s early training in drawing, a practice she maintained after adopting fiber as her primary medium.
Brute Material: Fiber into Form, April 5–September 8, 2013.
Gallery label from Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction , April 19 - August 13, 2017.
The free-hanging display of Little River emphasizes its dimensionality and highlights the contrast between solid and void in its construction. Tawney achieved this effect through her use of the open-warp technique, influenced in part by her study of complex pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles. Little River was included in Wall Hangings, a 1969 MoMA exhibition showcasing the work of preeminent contemporary fiber artists.
Explore more
Lenore Tawney
American, 1907–2007 5 works onlineWhen Lenore Tawney arrived at Coenties Slip in her black-and-tan convertible, she wasn’t searching for herself on the shores of Manhattan’s southern ports—she was seeking independence as a fully fledged artist.
Learn more →
From MoMA Design Store
Installation views
We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.
Licensing
Artwork or archival images
If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).
Audio and film clips
MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.
Text from a publication or the archives
If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.