Kirschzweige (Cherry Branches)

c. 1925–30

Kirschzweige (Cherry Branches), c. 1925–30. Josef Frank (Swedish, born Austria, 1885–1967), Haus & Garten (Austrian, est. 1925). Plain weave bleached linen, loom width, block printed; overall: 97.2 x 79.7 cm (38 1/4 x 31 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 1934.20 Josef Frank often used long sinuous vines in his designs, prompting one journalist to describe his textiles as “full of vitality and decorative feeling.” This comment along with a photograph of Kirschzweige, or Cherry Branches, as window treatments appeared in the mid-century Austrian design magazine Innen-Dekoration. Despite its apparent popularity, few examples of this design are known to exist. This textile fragment may be the largest extant example. The pointed leaves identify this plant as a cherry tree, giving the print its name Kirschzweige or Cherry Branches.