Ruth Adler Schnee ( Adler; May 13, 1923 – January 5, 2023) was a German-born American

textile design Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of Textile, cloth or Textile, fabric, which is subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned. Texti ...

er and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

er based in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Schnee was best known for her modern prints and abstract-patterns of organic and geometric forms. She opened the Ruth Adler-Schnee Design Studio with her spouse Edward Schnee in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, which operated until 1960. The studio produced textiles and later branched off into Adler-Schnee Associates home decor, interiors, and furniture.

Biography

Ruth Adler was born on May 13, 1923, in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Germany, to the

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

family of Marie and Joseph Adler. The family later moved to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. In 1937, when she was 14, she went to the

Degenerate Art Exhibition The Degenerate Art exhibition () was an art exhibition organized by Adolf Ziegler and the Nazi Party in Munich from 19 July to 30 November 1937. The exhibition presented 650 works of art, confiscated from German museums, and was staged in count ...

, This exhibit was designed by the Nazis to be a criticism of modern art, but it inspired Adler Schnee, particularly the vivid colors of

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

's paintings. She and her family fled Germany shortly after

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

in 1938 and before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They moved to Detroit, where Adler Schnee graduated from

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...

in 1942. In 1944, she studied under

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

at Harvard University, after receiving a fellowship to the

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Graduate School of Architecture and Design. In 1945, she received a bachelor of fine arts degree from

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. Adler Schnee interned with

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and she received a master of fine arts degree from

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...

in 1946, becoming one of the first woman to graduate from the school. She also won a ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' residential design competition in 1946. She studied architecture with

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

at Cranbrook and it was here she became interested in textile design. In 1948, she married Edward Schnee, a

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

graduate in economics and he helped her grow her business. Together they opened the Adler Schnee home store in Detroit. In 1952, Adler Schnee worked with

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

on the

Ford Rotunda The Ford Rotunda was a tourist attraction that was originally on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and later was relocated to Dearborn, Michigan. It was among the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, receiving more visit ...

by contributing drapery. Her work was also included in the

General Motors Technical Center The GM Technical Center was inaugurated in 1956 as General Motors's primary design and engineering center, located in Warren, Michigan. In 2000 the center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and fourteen years later it was d ...

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

and

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

World Trade Center (1973–2001) The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of seven buildings in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built primarily between 1966 and 1975, it was dedicated on April 4, 1973, and ...

in New York. Adler Schnee was the subject of a 2010 documentary, '' The Radiant Sun: Designer Ruth Adler Schnee'' directed by Terri Sarris of the University of Michigan. Adler Schnee was awarded

The Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, enviro ...

's 2015 Kresge Eminent Artist Award for lifetime achievement in her introduction of post-war modernism to the Detroit area. Adler Schnee died on January 5, 2023, at the age of 99.

Design aesthetic and textiles

The ''Chicago Tribune'' Design for Better Living competition that she won was to design a modern house. Adler Schnee's design was a box of glass and steel, with large windows. Needing draperies for the windows, she sketched out, on the spur of the moment, an abstract pattern. An architectural firm contacted her, wanting to purchase such draperies, but they didn't actually exist. She learned how to

silk screen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" ...

, but it was only after she met her husband that she was able expand her printing operation. At this time, textiles were changing from simply decoration to a way of expressing modern design. She was inspired in her textile design by the natural world (Seedy Weeds, 1953) and the built world (Construction, 1950). As a part of their partnership, her husband named all of her textiles. They started their store, Adler Schnee, shortly after their marriage. It featured Adler Schnee's bold, modern textiles and furniture designed by their friends,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

Ray Eames Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames (née Kaiser; December 15, 1912 – August 21, 1988) was an American artist and designer who worked in a variety of media. In creative partnership with her husband, Charles Eames, and The Eames Office, she was ...

Florence Knoll Florence Marguerite Knoll Bassett ( Schust; May 24, 1917 – January 25, 2019) was an American architect, interior designer, furniture designer, and entrepreneur who has been credited with revolutionizing office design and bringing modernist de ...

, and more. Later, they also showcased and sold items from Scandinavian design firms such as Dansk,

Marimekko Marimekko Corporation () is a Finland, Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company founded by Viljo and Armi Ratia in Helsinki in 1951. Marimekko made important contributions to fashion in the 1960s. It is particularly noted for it ...

, and

Orrefors Orrefors () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in southern Sweden and part of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, with 719 inhabitants in 2010. The township belongs to Hälleberga parish and is primarily famous for its Orrefors glassworks ...

Exhibitions/museum collections

Midcentury modernism started its revival in the early 1990s, and Adler Schnee's work was featured in retrospective shows, including: * Design 1935–1965: What Modern Was, touring exhibition, 1991-1992 * Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism,

Contemporary Jewish Museum The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) is a non-collecting museum at 736 Mission Street at Yerba Buena Lane in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The museum, which was founded in 1984, is located in the histori ...

in San Francisco, April 4 - October 14, 2014. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

and The Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn, Michigan). The Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research holds the Edward and Ruth Adler Schnee Papers, acquired in 2010. The

Cranbrook Art Museum The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of ...

received a large collection of her textiles in 2021 from Adler Schnee and her husband.

Awards

Source: *

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

Prix de Paris prize, 1946 * American Institute of Decorators Award for Printed Textiles, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1958 * ''House and Garden Magazine'' Award, 1948 * ''Chicago Tribune'' Design for Better Living Award, 1948 * Awarded the key to the city of Detroit, 1976 * International Color Award from the American Institute of Architects, 1979 * International Lighting Design Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, 1985 * Women in Arts Award for lifetime contribution to the arts, 2002 * Kresge Eminent Artist for lifetime achievement by the Kresge Foundation, 2015

References

External links

Knoll Designer Bios, Ruth Adler Schnee
* Video
Detroit Performs: Designer Ruth Adler Schnee
Episode 403/Segment 2 (2016) from

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Oral history interview with Ruth Adler Schnee, 2002 November 24-30
from

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Ruth Adler Schnee Textiles
The Henry Ford (a collection of photos of her textiles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler Schnee, Ruth 1923 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists 20th-century German women artists 21st-century German women artists American interior designers American people of German-Jewish descent American textile designers American women interior designers Artists from Detroit Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Rhode Island School of Design alumni