Collection Online as of February 6, 2023
Fruktlåda (Case of Fruit)
Plain weave cotton, loom width, printed
Overall: 89.5 x 128.3 cm (35 1/4 x 50 1/2 in.)
The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 1952.402
Location
not on view
Fun Fact
The apple tree likely refers to the Tree of Life, called the “Yggdrasil” in Norse mythology.
Description
Initially produced by the Swedish department store Nordiska Kompaniet, this version of Fruktlåda was manufactured in America despite its Swedish name. The textile’s bright blue color was only associated with the version printed by Knoll Associates, who usually identified the pattern as Apples. Its strongly delineated pattern depicts the various stages of an apple’s life from seed to decay.
Stig Lindberg
Stig Lindberg (born Frederick Stigurd Lindberg in Umeå, Sweden) was a Swedish ceramicist, glass artist, and textile designer. Having studied ceramics at the Konstfackskolen (School of Arts, Crafts, and Design) and the Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (Royal Institute of Technology), Lindberg’s international reputation largely rests on his ceramic and glass designs for Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory and various Swedish glasshouses. Lindberg was the creative director of Gustavsberg between 1949 and 1957, and again between 1971 and 1980. Prior to his directorship, Lindberg illustrated children’s books and designed textiles for Nordiska Kompaniet that often incorporated playful motifs.
Knoll Associates
American furniture and interior design firm, founded in 1938 by Hans Knoll (1914-1955), who emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1935. It now has subsidiary companies all over the world, which operate under the name Knoll International.