Textiles The Art of Mankind

Mary Schoeser

A comprehensive celebration of the spectacular and enduring appeal of textiles across time and cultures

Textiles are the most ubiquitous, diverse, and consistently creative art form on the planet. This major new work comprises more than one thousand images that highlight the beauty, subtlety, simplicity, or complexity of textiles created around the world. Based on knowledge accrued over a lifetime of immersion in the textile arts, Mary Schoeser’s definitive text offers sweeping insight into the role that textiles have played throughout human civilization. The juxtaposition of historical and contemporary examples highlights the skill and imagination of textile designers through the centuries as well as the remarkable range of achievements. Detailed images and informed captions illustrate the variety and allure of textiles, and the informative descriptions include histories of private collections, underscoring the importance of context for appreciating the exquisite detail of fabric and cloth. An extensive resource section provides valuable information about museum and textile associations across the globe.

Reviews

Image and text together provide an engaging look at contemporary textile art and design and its influences.

— Choice

Contributors

Mary Schoeser

Author

Mary Schoeser is a recognized authority on the history of textiles. She has advised organizations such as English Heritage, the National Trust, Liberty of London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Her publications cover the full range of textile history, from the textile entries in Materials and Techniques in the Decorative Arts: An Illustrated Dictionary and monographs on textile artists such as Rozanne Hawksley , to surveys of contemporary work in International Textile Design and its context in Textiles: The Art of Mankind . Currently an honorary senior research fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, she has served as the Honorary President of the Textile Society (UK) and remains Patron of the Bernat Klein Foundation and the School of Textiles, Coggeshall.