Opening tomorrow at the Kibel Gallery in  Washington, D.C.: Ruth Adler Schnee: A Passion for Color and Design. This exhibit runs through November 20th only…. and tomorrow there will be an opening lecture at noon.  Oh, how I wish I could go! 

This woman was so important in modernist design: a refugee from Nazi Germany, she attended both RSID and Cranbrook(the first Jewish woman to be awarded a fellowship).  After winning the Prix de Paris in 1945 she worked for Raymond Loewy. Here she worked on graphics and logos: the Shell Oil logo colors were totally her idea. She went on to design textiles when she found there simply did not exist the look she needed for her work as an architect/designer.

Here is a sampling of her designs:Seedyweeds

Countryfair

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In her words:  “I have always loved color”; “I’ve loved it all my life”; “Everything around you is design: a leaf, a flower,; it’s a way of looking at objects in life”.

And here is the link to her stationary through Anzea Textiles.

And, if you have time, I URGE you to look at this: an interview taped by her daughter in 2002. It’s really fascinating and touching.