[Sugar Cubes: Design for Stehli Silk Corporation]

Edward J. Steichen

1920s · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

For a project promoting not sugar but silk, Edward Steichen devised textile patterns from photographs of everyday objects. His arrangements of sugar cubes, matches, and mothballs were printed onto Stehli’s "Americana" line of dress fabrics. The success of these designs speaks to the proliferation and popularity of object photography—a genre so culturally ingrained that, by the late 1920s, it could become a fashion phenomenon. Steichen helped shape these conditions in his influential role as chief photographer for Condé Nast. The Stehli project reflected his populist vision for commercial photography, at least insofar as these chic silks ever reached the mainstream.

Artist

Edward J. Steichen

Date

1920s

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987