The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Root of Itself

1967

Lenore Tawney

(American, 1907–2007)
America
Paper, German text, quail eggshell
Overall: 24.1 x 21 x 3.2 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.); Mounted: 33.7 x 28.3 x 5.1 cm (13 1/4 x 11 1/8 x 2 in.)
Gift of Camille and Alex Cook 2014.712
© Lenore G. Tawney Foundation
Location: Not on view

Description

In Root of Itself, Lenore Tawney created a work of art in which old sheets of paper frame a quail eggshell flanked by strips of printed German text. Collages made of natural objects and ephemera that she compiled over her lifetime display the artist’s personal visual vocabulary and poetic response to materials. Recurring images—such as the bird egg seen here—engage with universal themes such as vulnerability, resilience, infinity, and spirituality.
  • Camille and Alex Cook
  • Park, Betty. "Fiber Art: An Uncommon Thread." Fiberarts, March/April 1982. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press LLC. p. 78-79
    Tawney, Lenore, Kathleen Nugent Mangan, and George Erml. Lenore Tawney: A Retrospective : American Craft Museum, New York. New York: Rizzoli, 1990.
    WIlson, Anne. "A Plea for Broader Dialogue." Fiberarts, Summer 1994. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press LLC. p. 52-56
    Stein, Judith E. "The Inventive Genius of Lenore Tawney." Fiberarts, September 1995, Vol. 24, no. 2. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press LLC. p. 28-34
    Kingsley, April. "Unraveling the weave." Fiberarts, March / April 1995, Vol. 21, Loveland, CO: Interweave Press LLC. p.45-51
    Russell, Carol. "An Emissary for American Artists." Fiberarts, November 1996. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press LLC. p. 48-53
  • Contemporary Art Rotation – Fall 2023. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 20, 2023-April 7, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Root of Itself|url=false|author=Lenore Tawney|year=1967|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2014.712