FOWLER, Cynthia (2020). The Modern Embroidery Movement, London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. ISBN 9781350033320. Paperback, 260 pp., black/white and colour illustrations, bibliography. Price: GB£ 23.50.
I had never heard of Marguerite Zorach, Marcia Stebbins (1907-1976), Mary Ellen Crisp (b. 1896), Marian Stoll or Georgiana Brown Harbeson (1894-1980) before. They, and other women referred to in this insightful book, were all American painters, working in the first half of the 20th century, who turned to embroidery as an art form. Some, like Zorach, had a major role in bringing modern art to the US. This well-researched book examines their lives, their embroidery, and the work they did to launch a modern embroidery movement.
There are numerous illustrations of both their paintings and embroidery, sadly, mostly in black and white which is ironic, given that several of them said it was the vibrant colour of threads that led them to embroidery in the first place. It is telling that many of the often stunning illustrated embroidery works are captioned “Dimensions and whereabouts unknown”, as Prof. Fowler (Emmanuel College, Boston) examines the many obstacles women artists faced at the time.
Recommendation: This fully annotated account of this artistic movement will interest not only embroiderers, but art historians as well.
Shelley Anderson, 1 January 2023
