Art Academy of Latvia Graphic Arts Alumnae Who Established the Principles of Latvian National Textile Art, 1931–1943

Abstract

In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male artists. Through my research of textile compositions of the famous Latvian artist and designer Jūlijs Madernieks, it became apparent that during this period, Latvian magazines also showcased textiles by lesser-known artists, particularly graduates of the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia. Despite the significant role played by graphic artists in the formation and promotion of Latvian national textile art, their contributions remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on the popular women’s magazine Zeltene, which presented numerous original textile designs by Elza Druja, Marija Muceniece, Otomija Freiberga, and Kristine Pāvulina. Another focal point of this study is the state of textile crafts education in the third decade of the 20th century and its role in encouraging women to engage in textile art or crafts. The contributions of women to Latvian textile art during the 1920s and 1930s have not received adequate scholarly attention due to the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1940s, as well as subsequent constraints imposed on Latvian art historians by the Soviet regime. This paper marks an initial stage in the development of Latvian textile art history, with a particular emphasis on female textile artists.