Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles

February 22-June 14, 2025

In 1925, George Hewitt Myers founded The Textile Museum with his global collection of carpets and textiles prized for their “intrinsic beauty of design, color and technique.” This exhibition brings together iconic masterworks from The Textile Museum Collection. As the museum launches its centennial year, Intrinsic Beauty celebrates textile making as one of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated art forms.

Acknowledgements

Lead support for activities celebrating the museum's centennial is provided by an anonymous donor, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the Estate of Peter L. Sheldon. Major support is provided by the Bruce P. and Olive W. Baganz Fund for The Textile Museum Exhibitions and Publications, the Cynthia and Alton Boyer Fund for Education, the Judith B. Grunberg Estate, the Markarian Foundation, and Mary Jo Otsea and Richard H. Brown. Additional support is provided by the American Conference on Oriental Rugs, Deborah M. Anderson, Corinne M. Berezuk, Alastair and Kathy Dunn, Lee and Colin England in memory of John Howe, the Megalli Family Endowment, Ruth Rudolph Perlin and Dr. Seymour Perlin, The Textile Museum Education Fund, Barbara Tober in honor of Dr. Young Yang Chung, and Pamela Tripp-Melby.

Fragment from a curtain, Spain, 14th/15th century. The Textile Museum Collection 84.11. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1931.

Shoulder cloth, Indonesia, 1875-1900. The Textile Museum Collection 1986.13.2. Gift of Mary Jane and Sanford Bloom. 

Tunic, Peru, 750-950. The Textile Museum Collection 91.341. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1941.

Kilim, Iran, 16th/17th century. The Textile Museum Collection R33.28.1. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1926.

Friday, February 21, 1 p.m