Tammis Keefe (1913 – June 5, 1960) was an American textile designer.

Tammis Keefe
Born1913
DiedJune, 5 1960 (aged 46–47)
Alma materLos Angeles Community College
Known forTextile design

Biography

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Keefe was born Margaret Thomas in 1913. She began her studies in mathematics at Los Angeles Community College. After a trip to Chicago to see the 1933-1934 World's Fair, she changed her major to art at the Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles. After graduation, she became the Art Director of Arts and Architecture magazine during World War II.[1]

By 1948, Keefe was working as a textile designer for Dorothy Leibis Studio in New York City which provided textile designs to the furnishings firm, Goodall Industries. She also created freelance designs for other home decorative lines and wallpaper for various firms. Later, she began designing handkerchiefs commissioned by J. H. Kimball for Lord & Taylor in New York. Keefe was best known for her bright colors playful designs on handkerchiefs, kitchen towels and scarves.[1][2][3][4]

On June 5, 1960, Keefe died of cancer.[2]

Her work can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,[5] the Cooper Hewitt[6] and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Keefe, Tammis, 1913-1960. Wilmington, Delaware: silk screen map on linen handkerchief circa 1944-1960" (PDF). University of Delaware Library. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "TAMMIS KEEFE, 40, DEAD i ._______ i; Textile Designer Had Been With Lord & Taylor". The New York Times. 6 June 1960. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  3. ^ a b Kirkham, Pat (2002). Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300093314.
  4. ^ "EXOTIC COLORS MARK NEW FABRIC DESIGNS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  5. ^ "Tammis Keefe | Scarf | American | The Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  6. ^ "Tammis Keefe | Designer | People | Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". collection.cooperhewitt.org. Retrieved 2018-05-08.