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"May"

Design House House of Dior French
Designer Christian Dior French
spring/summer 1953
Not on view
Dior reveled in the paradox of the natural and the sophisticated. The most telling example is his frequent self-presentation, not as a man who symbolized the authority of French taste, but rather as a simple gardener, farmer, and mill owner.

In "May," flowering grasses and wild clover are rendered in silk floss on organza. This "simple" patterning of meadow-gone-to-weed is composed of the tiniest French knots and the meticulously measured stitches of the hand embroiderer, suggesting that for Dior, it was not only that beauty resides in the most rustic, but also that the most successful artifice is a beguiling naivété.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "May"
  • Design House: House of Dior (French, founded 1946)
  • Designer: Christian Dior (French, Granville 1905–1957 Montecatini)
  • Date: spring/summer 1953
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: silk
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. David Kluger, 1960
  • Object Number: C.I.60.21.1a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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"Venus"
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Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome, Henri-Joseph Harpignies French, Pen and black ink, brush, gray and blue-gray washes
Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome
Henri-Joseph Harpignies
1856
"Butterfly", Charles James American, silk, synthetic, American
"Butterfly"
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1955
"Bar", House of Dior French, silk, French
"Bar"
Design House House of Dior
Designer Christian Dior
spring/summer 1947
Violin or Viola Bow, Brazilwood, other materials, French
Violin or Viola Bow
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late 19th or early 20th century

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