1941: Indian Art in Home of Paleface
1941, Feb 28 The Chillicothe Constitution Tribune
Indian influence is showing up in 1940 trends of art in the home.
And, strangely, it isn't a cavalcade of gaudy color nor of weirdly woven materials.
With Indian influence in your home and your boasting about it, your neighbor will like as not ask. "Just where is all that Indian stuff, anyway?"
Navajo blankets, for example, seem just right for the modern chair designed for the New York Museum of Modern Art by Henry Klumb. It's the simplicity, the emphasis on basic materials, and the soft, rich colors of the trend-to-be that are attracting the attention of housewives who see home decorating possibilities at "the biggest exhibit of American Indian art" at the museum.
In an interesting group beside the chair is a cottonwood drum, with rawhide head and lacings, used as an end table. Ornaments on the table are a polished Papago pottery jar in historical "black on red" and a box of porcupine quills embroidered exquisitely on birth bark by the Chippewas. Nearby is a mantel combining Hopi pottery in rust-red and natural tile with black modern material.
Custom-made furniture, home-spun for drapers and wooden forks and other Indian handicraft may be obtained from the Indians. American manufacturers are showing an interest in Indian trend and are preparing for it.
1941, Feb 28 The Chillicothe Constitution Tribune |