The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Sky Ride (Century of Progress Prints no. 1005)

1933
designed by

Walter Dorwin Teague

(American, 1883–1960)
manufacturer

Marshall Field & Co.

(American, Chicago, 1852–2005)
America
Silk: plain weave, printed
Overall: 49.2 x 50.8 cm (19 3/8 x 20 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Edd A. Ruggles 1933.38
Location: 234 Textile Gallery

Description

This printed silk square was designed by American industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960) for the department store Marshall Field and Company. The abstract, geometric, architectural pattern was inspired by the Sky Ride towers at the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago (1933-34). Sky ride was a transporter bridge attraction that ferried visitors across the exposition fairgrounds. During its short installation Sky Ride carried more than 4 million passengers.
  • Century of Progress International Exposition. Official Pictures of a Century of Progress Exposition. Kaufmann & Fabry Co. (Chicago, Ill: 1933)
    "The Store Book: Views and Facts of the Retail Store of Marshall Field & Company," Marshall Field & Company (1933) www.lib.uchicago.edu
    "The Store and A Century of Progress 1934, Marshall Field & Company, Chicago," Fashion of the Hour, Marshall Field & Company (1934) digital.hagley.org
    Reid, Kenneth. "Walter Dorwin Teague, Master of Design," Pencil Points (New York: Architectural Review, Inc, 1937)
    Teague, Walter Dorwin. Design This Day: The Technique of Order in the Machine Age. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1940.
    Marchand, Roland. 1991. “The Designers Go to the Fair: Walter Dorwin Teague and the Professionalization of Corporate Industrial Exhibits, 1933-1940.” Design Issues 8 (1) pp. 4-17 www.jstor.org
    Boardman, Michelle. All That Jazz: Printed Fashion Silks of the '20s and '30s. Allentown, Pa: Allentown Art Museum, 1998. pp. 17-20
    Allen, Franklin. Silk Industry of the World at the Opening of the Twentieth Century. New York, Silk Association of America: Nabu Press, 2010.
  • American Printed Silks, 1927–1947. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-November 8, 2026).
  • {{cite web|title=Sky Ride (Century of Progress Prints no. 1005)|url=false|author=Walter Dorwin Teague, Marshall Field & Co.|year=1933|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1933.38