In 1926, Edward Steichen was hired by Swiss textile company Stehli Silk, along with dozens of other American artists, to create designs for their Americana Print series. Stehli hoped to break into the American market by capitalizing on a perceived shift in the public’s taste for more contemporary design. Steichen readily accepted the job and brought his distinct Modernist vision to the work, later thanking the head of the company ‘for opening up this beautiful opportunity into a new field of photography.’
In his designs, Steichen chose to depict everyday objects, such as matchboxes, sugar cubes, carpet tacks and, in this case, spectacles, in unconventional, abstracted presentations. His exploration of perspective, contrast, and lighting in these photographs was a useful experiment for his photography as a whole, even outside of the commercial sphere.
Steichen’s designs were reproduced on fabrics sold by the yard. The silks, as well as Steichen’s photographs, were a commercial and critical success. Through his commercial work, Steichen was able to distill his modernist vocabulary and share it with a wider audience.
Textiles of Steichen’s from the Americana Prints series are now on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the current exhibition Jazz-Age Silks: The Stehli Silks Americana Collection, 1925–1928, open through April 8, 2025.
