Kingswood School Cranbrook Small Rug for West Lobby No. 29 (Rooftops)
Designer
Maja Andersson-Wirde
(Swedish, 1873-1952)
Workshop
Studio Loja Saarinen
(American, 1928-1942)
1931
Originally designed as one of three rugs for the Kingswood School Cranbrook west lobby, the rug was used on the fourth floor (the former Dance Room, colloquially known as Heaven) after the study halls were converted into the library in 1979-80. By that time, the rug had been renamed "Rooftops”. The original fringe was worn off from daily use in a school.
Kevin Adkisson
Curator
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
April 2024
Width: 85 in (215.9 cm)
ProvenanceKingswood School Cranbrook (1931–1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973–present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School - Kingswood Campus
Medium | MaterialsWool pile, wool weft, linen warp
GenreObject TypeRugs (textiles)
Alternate Title(s)
- Rooftops
In December 1931, the rug was exhibited in the "Cranbrook Exhibition" at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
In 2000 at the Cranbrook Art Museum's exhibition " The Art Deco Rug: Studio Loja Saarinen and the Cranbrook Tradition".
Building Connections: Architectural Dialogues with the Collection of Cranbrook Art Museum
Cranbrook Art Museum: June 3, 2005-September 25, 2005
Studio Loja Saarinen: The Art and Architecture of Weaving, 1928-1942
Saarinen House: April 28, 2019-December 1, 2019
Select Bibliography and Archival Citation(s)"Curtains & Rugs." Kingswood School Cranbrook Inventory of Equipment and Supplies. November 1938. Series IV: Cranbrook Institutions. Cranbrook Foundation Records, 1981-05. Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
KS 1931.17
