Dress

Jessie Franklin Turner

ca. 1937 · wool, wood · Costume Institute

It is rare to find pieces by this inventive American designer, especially an example of a day dress. Turner was not as well-known for her daywear as she was for her evening wear and teagowns, but as evidenced here, she used daywear as an avenue to showcase interesting textiles. She often designed, printed and dyed her own textiles. Many of her designs and patterns were inspired by ethnographic sources. This design seems to draw from batik, a resist dyeing technique that originated in Indonesia. In this particular piece, Turner also incorporated striking color combinations and an interesting textured weave, other elements that distinguished her designs, to add additional interest to a simply cut dress. The focus on the textile in this dress is especially interesting as it was donated by well-known textile artist and designer Dorothy Liebes.

Artist

Jessie Franklin Turner

Date

ca. 1937

Medium

wool, wood

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Dorothy Liebes, 1966