Friday 25 September, 2.30-4 p.m.: Talk and Showcase: Seed and Spirit of Modernism with Esther Fitzgerald
London-based textile specialist Esther Fitzgerald is celebrated for sourcing and offering historically significant pieces spanning antiquity to early Modernism. Her impressive client and collection list includes the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the RISD Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Abegg Foundation, the Ashmolean, the MFA Boston, and LACMA, among others.
Her expertise spans Coptic fragments from the 4th to the 6th century in Egypt to richly coloured Nazca tunics from 300 BC to 600 AD, showcasing deep provenance knowledge. In the 2000s, Fitzgerald curated “Seed and Spirit of Modernism,” a catalogue that explored the intersection of interwar textiles and artistic movements, pieces now stocked at the British Museum Bookshop, reflecting her scholarly narrative that linked textiles to broader cultural currents.
Now retired Fitzgerald was a regular participant in prominent fairs such as the New York International Tribal & Textile Arts Show, she presents a broad mix, ranging from ancient Sodjian textiles to 20th-century furnishing fabrics influenced by figures like Roger Fry.
Fitzgerald’s passion lies in building bridges between past and present, celebrating artisanal skill, cultural narratives, and the unexpected modern resonance of historic textiles.
Event Description
This September brings a new edition of Seed and Spirit of Modernism, a study of the textile design world between the wars. The revised publication includes additional material not present in the first edition, much of which finds unexpected parallels with the present day.
The final section focuses on the Hampstead Connection, and specifically on 28 Church Row — the former home of Charles Aitken and the current home of the author.
Aitken served as director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery and subsequently the Tate Gallery. Research conducted after the first edition of Seed and Spirit was published revealed evidence within the house connecting it to a wider network of significant figures. Aitken was a close associate of Ottoline Morrell and Roger Fry; all three were founding members of the Contemporary Art Society in 1909. Paul Nash had a professional relationship with Aitken and presented a watercolour to the daughter of a mutual friend as a wedding gift. Virginia Woolf recorded visits to the house. Nancy Nicholson, daughter of William Nicholson, would have been known to Aitken through that connection. Barron and Larcher lived and worked nearby.
Rabindranath Tagore, who features in the second volume of Seed and Spirit of Modernism, also visited 28 Church Row. His meeting there with the Reverend William Winstanley Pearson is documented, and it was through this connection that Tagore was later introduced to Gandhi.
A talk and showcase accompanying the publication of the new edition.
Event Cancellation Policy
All bookings are non-refundable. However, if you let us know that you are unable to attend an event you have booked at least two weeks before the event, we will open up your place. If we find another participant, you will be offered a credit note.
Original: $64.32
-65%$64.32
$22.51Product Information
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Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Description
London-based textile specialist Esther Fitzgerald is celebrated for sourcing and offering historically significant pieces spanning antiquity to early Modernism. Her impressive client and collection list includes the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the RISD Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Abegg Foundation, the Ashmolean, the MFA Boston, and LACMA, among others.
Her expertise spans Coptic fragments from the 4th to the 6th century in Egypt to richly coloured Nazca tunics from 300 BC to 600 AD, showcasing deep provenance knowledge. In the 2000s, Fitzgerald curated “Seed and Spirit of Modernism,” a catalogue that explored the intersection of interwar textiles and artistic movements, pieces now stocked at the British Museum Bookshop, reflecting her scholarly narrative that linked textiles to broader cultural currents.
Now retired Fitzgerald was a regular participant in prominent fairs such as the New York International Tribal & Textile Arts Show, she presents a broad mix, ranging from ancient Sodjian textiles to 20th-century furnishing fabrics influenced by figures like Roger Fry.
Fitzgerald’s passion lies in building bridges between past and present, celebrating artisanal skill, cultural narratives, and the unexpected modern resonance of historic textiles.
Event Description
This September brings a new edition of Seed and Spirit of Modernism, a study of the textile design world between the wars. The revised publication includes additional material not present in the first edition, much of which finds unexpected parallels with the present day.
The final section focuses on the Hampstead Connection, and specifically on 28 Church Row — the former home of Charles Aitken and the current home of the author.
Aitken served as director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery and subsequently the Tate Gallery. Research conducted after the first edition of Seed and Spirit was published revealed evidence within the house connecting it to a wider network of significant figures. Aitken was a close associate of Ottoline Morrell and Roger Fry; all three were founding members of the Contemporary Art Society in 1909. Paul Nash had a professional relationship with Aitken and presented a watercolour to the daughter of a mutual friend as a wedding gift. Virginia Woolf recorded visits to the house. Nancy Nicholson, daughter of William Nicholson, would have been known to Aitken through that connection. Barron and Larcher lived and worked nearby.
Rabindranath Tagore, who features in the second volume of Seed and Spirit of Modernism, also visited 28 Church Row. His meeting there with the Reverend William Winstanley Pearson is documented, and it was through this connection that Tagore was later introduced to Gandhi.
A talk and showcase accompanying the publication of the new edition.
Event Cancellation Policy
All bookings are non-refundable. However, if you let us know that you are unable to attend an event you have booked at least two weeks before the event, we will open up your place. If we find another participant, you will be offered a credit note.
