Minnie Macleish (1876 – 1957 ) British textile designer

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Furnishing fabric (1929) designer Minnie Macleish
Furnishing fabric (1929) designer Minnie Macleish

Minnie Macleish Patterns for Morton & Sundour fabrics

Minnie Macleish (1876 – 1957  ) was a textile designer in the United Kingdom. She pioneered a free-thinking painterly approach to textile design. She was one of the most outspoken critics of the Art Deco style. She said, ‘Broadly speaking, we do not understand this modern movement in design and do not like it.’

She collaborated with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Constance Irving at London’s Foxton textiles and Amsterdam’s Metz store. Macleish was a prolific designer during the 1920s and 1930s, creating patterns for Morton Sundour fabrics.

She took part in the British sections of the 1927 ‘Europäisches Kunstgewerbe,’ Grassi Museum, Leipzig, as well as in Paris and Vienna textile exhibitions.

Works by Minnie Macleish

Textile design by Minnie Macleish V&A c.1935
Textile design by Minnie Macleish V&A c.1935
Textile Design by Minnie Macleish (c.1935) V&A
Textile Design by Minnie Macleish c.1935
Furnish fabric, 1924 (made) designed by Minnie McLeish
Furnish fabric, 1924 (made) designed by Minnie McLeish
Textile design c.1935 designed by Minnie McLeish.
Textile design c.1935, designed by Minnie McLeish.
Furnishing Fabric, 1921 (made) designed by Minnie McLeish.
Furnishing Fabric, 1921 (made), designed by Minnie McLeish.
Vase, 1925 - 1936 designed by Minnie McLeish.
Vase, 1925 – 1936 designed by Minnie McLeish.
Furnishing fabric ca. 1923 (made) designed by Minnie McLeish
Furnishing fabric ca. 1923 (made) designed by Minnie McLeish

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

MacCarthy, F. (1972). All things bright & beautiful; design in Britain, 1830 to today. University of Toronto Press.

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