The Gift of Daren Pierce to the Smithsonian

Weavers in Dorothy Liebes’s studio often stayed in touch—or even remained friends—with Liebes and other members of the studio after departing to pursue other endeavors. [1] Such was the case with Liebes and Daren Pierce, as well as Pierce and Tammis Keefe. In 1982, he donated a number of handkerchiefs and hand and dish towels designed by Keefe to Cooper Hewitt’s collection. In January of that year, he wrote to Milton Sonday, then head of textiles at Cooper Hewitt, explaining, “I have an extremely heterogeneous collection of textiles. There may be some of interest to you. Perhaps you would call me . . . and you could arrange to stop by for a drink some afternoon to see if there are any items you would like to add to the Museum collection. I would be happy to donate any of them.” [2] In addition to Keefe’s textiles, Pierce also contributed a book of carpet designs in watercolor and gouache by modernists Marion Dorn and E. McKnight Kauffer, a band of lace depicting owls, and a woven apron in bold greens and yellows and deep blues and blacks from turn-of-the-century Portugal. To the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, he donated a portrait of Dorothy Liebes by American artist Brian Connelly.

TAMMIS KEEFE

Trained as a painter, Keefe was brought into the Dorothy Liebes Studio for her work with printed textiles. With Liebes, she worked on high-profile brands like Goodall Fabrics and on her own produced designs for Lord & Taylor and J. H. Kimball & Company. [3] Pierce supported his friend’s legacy with this donation of her textiles, and the quirky humor of the designs is perhaps a window into their friendship.

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of various kinds of dogs, one with a barrel reading “Cheer,” all depicted in white, gray, and black against a red background.

Dish Towel, Cheer, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-7

Rectangular hand towel with vertically aligned imagery of white, black, and green butterflies against a bright yellow background.

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-11

Rectangular hand towel with vertically aligned imagery of white and yellow butterflies against a dark gray background.

Hand Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-4

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of the head of a lion and the patterning of a zebra rendered in yellow, black, and orange.

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-13

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of the head and spots of a leopard with the word “Smile” under its head.

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-14

Rectangular hand towel with imagery of Cupid holding two roses, printed in turquoise and pink.

Hand Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-5

Handkerchiefs, like scarves, were a popular fashion accessory because they require little material (helpful during wartime when materials were scarcer) and can add color and pattern to an outfit. Keefe focused on handkerchiefs and scarves later in her career. This “Thank You” handkerchief was her bestselling design. [4] 

Small square handkerchief with four sections of swirling line, each with “Thank you” in a different typescript. Two roses are depicted in the center in black, green, pink, and white, all on a blue background.

Handkerchief, Thank You, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Screen printed cotton plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-2

Square handkerchief with a red elephant wearing a black top hat, on a white shield with blue stars, with the slogan “I Like Ike!” below. Blue field with a border of red and white stripes.

Handkerchief, I Like Ike, circa 1952; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Screen printed cotton plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-1

Square handkerchief with a red-brick border and imagery of leaves, butterflies, and birds in black, blue, green, and red at the center.

Handkerchief, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Screen printed cotton plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-3

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of bottles of wine, fish, a mushroom, a corkscrew, and the Lean Tower of Pisa, depicted in a cut-and-paste, cartoonish manner in wine red, white, and gray against an olive-green background.

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-9

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of various types of squash and peas, printed in brown and gray against an orange background.

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-10

Starting in 1957, Pierce began publishing several humor books with Keefe’s partner, Jane Trahey. The first was The Compleat Martini Cookbook, and the books thrive in absurdity and often relate to cooking. This dish towel by Keefe, and those that follow here, parallel that kitchen-based humor but with more mundane predicaments and squabbles.

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of fire engines, firemen, and a helmet with the words “Something’s Burning!” printed below. All in orange, green, and black.

Dish Towel, Something’s Burning!, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-6

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of four men, one woman, and two guns, depicted in pink, black, and gray, accompanied by text reading “It’s Your Turn to Do the Dishes.”

Dish Towel, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-8

Rectangular dish towel with imagery of two owls, a toucan, and two other birds on three branches, printed in red, white, and gray, with the text “Who-o-o-s for Dinner,” all against a gray-ish green background.

Dish Towel, Who-o-o-s for Dinner, 1950–55; Designed by Tammis Keefe (American, 1913–1960); Printed on linen plain weave; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-12

LACE

Pierce was known to have collected owl imagery. A New York Times profile of his living room décor alludes to a “large owl collection,” although legible photographs of this collection have not been found. This band of lace may have been of interest to Sonday to complement Cooper Hewitt’s extensive collection of lace and for its use of a figural motif in the medium.

Band of lace with a repeated image of an owl perched on a leafy branch.

Band, Les Hiboux, circa 1915; Produced by Les Amis de la Dentelle (France); Mechlin-style cotton bobbin lace; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-15

PORTUGUESE APRON

Apron made from a panel of fabric patterned with a strip of bold flowers and narrow, widely spaced bands of blue, green, white, and yellow on black.

Apron (Portugal), late 19th–early 20th century; Cotton and wool plain weave with supplementary weft loops; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-16

MARION DORN & E. McKNIGHT KAUFFER

Marion Dorn and E. McKnight Kauffer were American designers active in England until returning to the United States before World War II. [5] Dorn was best known for her textile designs and their integration with interiors while Kauffer was popularly crowned the “poster king” for his work in graphic design. Both had broad influences on pre-war modernism, and Pierce’s interest in their work—evidenced by this book of carpet designs in his gift to Cooper Hewitt—demonstrates his taste in and knowledge of modern design. He frequently employed bold and modern carpeting in his own interior design work. 

Painted drawing of brown, black, and blue squares and rectangles layered in an abstract pattern. The monograph “EMcKK” is visible in blue.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-6

Painted drawing with rectangular fields of color in bright mint, gray-green, gray, brown, and white, the white sections overlaid with black and white, minimalist illustrations of leafy vines.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by Marion V. Dorn (American, 1896–1964); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-9

Dorn and Kauffer were influential in translating modern art into public and private interiors. The long rectangle shape and linear motifs in these carpet designs mimicked the long expanses of windows often part of modern architecture. This design, as well as the one below, were actually produced into carpets.

Painted drawing of rectangular fields of color, bisected diagonally from the upper left to the lower right, the top section in bright mint, orange red, blueish gray, and mustard green and the bottom section in soft grays and beiges.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-13

Painted drawing of rectangular, interlocking fields of color in orange-red, chartreuse, dusty purple, navy blues, and gray beiges.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-12

Painted drawing of surrealist abstract shapes in grays and deep blues, the latter shapes accented with lines and squiggles of orange.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by E. McKnight Kauffer (American, 1890–1954); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-17

Dorn was described as the “architect of floors” in 1932 by Dorothy Todd, an influential British magazine editor, for the designer’s rugs that worked in concert with other elements of interiors, such as furniture and architecture, to create separate areas within a space. [6] Such thinking is evident in this design in which patterning divides the circular rug into quadrants.

Square painted drawing of a circle composed of a variety of geometric shapes organized in linear bands of pattern creating a plus sign from the center surrounded by concentric circular bands.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by Marion V. Dorn (American, 1896–1964); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-11

Dorn often used figural motifs in her textile and wallpaper designs to create animated patterns and juxtapositions. This drawing and the one below are indicative of Dorn’s success with such motifs.

Painted drawing of floral imagery surrounded by vines, the top half in greens and blacks and the bottom half in soft grays and beiges.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by Marion V. Dorn (American, 1896–1964); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-14

This design was produced into a rug by Wilton Royal Carpet Factory for an exhibition on Dorn and Kauffer at Arthur Tooth and Sons in 1929. [7]

Painted drawing of a cluster of seashells in blues, oranges, grays, and browns are centered on two contrasting, diagonally bisecting fields, one a gray-ish purple and the other a textural beige and brown.

Design for a Carpet, circa 1928; Designed by Marion V. Dorn (American, 1896–1964); Brush and watercolor, gouache on photostat; Gift of Daren Pierce, 1982-79-17-5

DOROTHY LIEBES PORTRAIT

Pierce donated this portrait of Liebes by American artist Brian Connelly to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in 1980. Pictured in her typical updo, bold metal necklace, and black clothing, Liebes’s energetic spirit comes through in Connelly’s surreal style. (Cooper Hewitt owns textiles by Connelly, acquired in a separate gift.) It is not known how Pierce may have or have not displayed this portrait of his friend.

Portrait of a woman, depicted from the bust up. Accompanying her pleasant grin, her hair is pulled up and she wears an ornate metal necklace and black clothing. Blue, green, and gold ribbons surround her, and the background is deep blue.

Painting, Dorothy Wright Liebes, 1956; Brian Connelly (American, 1926–1962/3); Oil on Masonite; 45.3 × 35.5 cm (17 13/16 × 14 in.); National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Daren Pierce, NPG.80.134

NOTES

[1] Erica Warren, “Fission: Design and Mentorship in the Dorothy Liebes Studio,” in A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, eds. Susan Brown and Alexa Griffith Winton (New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2023). 

[2] Daren Pierce, letter to Milton Sonday, January 15, 1982. Register files, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. 

[3] For more on Tammis Keefe, see Kim Randall, “Tammis Keefe,” A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/tammis-keefe. 

[4] Kim Randall, “Tammis Keefe,” A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, https://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/dorothy-liebes/tammis-keefe. 

[5] For more on Dorn and Kauffer, see E. McKnight Kauffer: The Artist in Advertising, eds. Caitlin Condell and Emily M. Orr (New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Rizzoli Electa, 2020). 

[6] Christine Boydell, The Architect of Floors: Modernism, Art and Marion Dorn Designs (Essex, England: Mary Schoeser in association with The Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects, London, 1996), 45. 

[7] Ibid, 36.

 

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