"Seedy Weeds" Fabric Swatch Designed by Ruth Adler Schnee, 1953

01

Artifact Overview

Pins strewn about her sewing table. Snowflakes under a microscope. A stack of firewood. Adler Schnee took inspiration from the world around her, both the fantastic and the mundane. She created strikingly modern abstract and often organic forms. For this design, aptly named "Seedy Weeds" by her husband Eddie, Adler Schnee was motivated by -- you guessed it -- her personal garden.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Swatch

Date Made

1953

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

2018.143.33

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Linen (Material)

Color

Blue
Purple
White (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 27.875 in
Width: 51.75 in

Inscriptions

on paper tag: [AD]LER/SCHNEE, INC. / [...] / "Seedy Weeds" on angelstripe / Repeat 29" / 48" W / included
02

Related Content

  • 2016 General Motors First-Generation Self-Driving Test Vehicle
    Set

    Celebrating 90 -- Collecting through the Decades: 2010s

    • 7 Artifacts
    The Henry Ford marks its 90th anniversary in 2019. In celebration, The Henry Ford's curators have taken a decade-by-decade look at how our collections have grown -- through significant additions and evolving philosophies. This set looks at some of the objects and archives collected during the 2010s.
  • "Pins and Needles" Fabric Swatch Designed by Ruth Adler Schnee, 1949-1964
    Set

    Ruth Adler Schnee's Textiles

    • 38 Artifacts
    Pioneering modern designer Ruth Adler Schnee’s bold textiles have broad appeal. Her furnishing and drapery fabrics were favorites of the everyday consumer and leading architects alike, including Minoru Yamasaki, Paul Rudolph, and Buckminster Fuller. Adler Schnee’s textiles, which feature vivid color and abstracted organic forms, added whimsy and depth to the sleek, minimal aesthetic popular in the mid-century period.
  • THF173792 / "Nosegay" Fabric Swatch Designed by Ruth Adler Schnee, 1950
    article

    Pioneering Modern Designer: Ruth Adler Schnee

      Pioneering modern designer Ruth Adler Schnee’s bold textiles feature vivid color and abstracted organic forms, adding whimsy and depth to the sleek, minimal aesthetic popular in the mid-century period.
    • "Seedy Weeds," Fabric Sample Designed by Ruth Adler Schnee, 1953. THF169002
      article

      Ruth Adler Schnee's Textiles

        Pioneering modern designer Ruth Adler Schnee created furnishing and drapery fabrics with whimsy and depth that were favorites of the everyday consumer and leading architects alike.