About this artwork
Ethel Stein was well known and admired by her contemporaries for her careful study and mastery of several difficult techniques. One of her most ambitious feats was to create her own draw loom, the loom used for weaving complex designs with a system of cords that are activated by hand to control the interlacing of the warps and wefts. This loom—based on technology invented by Chinese silk weavers as early as the seventh century—enabled her to turn from geometric motifs to more pictorial subjects, such as this stylized portrait inspired by Italian Renaissance painting. Stein delineated the subject’s features, hair, and clothing with color and manipulated the weave structure to create subtle changes in texture.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Textiles
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Artist
- Ethel Stein
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Title
- Portrait
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Place
- New York (Object made in:)
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Date
- Made 1999
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Medium
- Cotton, pre-dyed warp and weft satin weave with twill interlacings of secondary binding warps and patterning wefts; woven on a loom with a drawloom attachment fabricated by the artist
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Dimensions
- 108.5 × 88 cm (46 5/8 × 34 5/8 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Ethel Stein
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Reference Number
- 2012.423
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Copyright
- © Ethel Stein
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
