Eszter Haraszty (1920– 24 November 1994) was a Hungarian-born designer best known for her work as head of the textiles department at Knoll.
Career
Eszter Haraszty was born on September 28, 1920 in Hungary[1] as Edith Herczka and received her education from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest.[2] After graduation, she worked as a costume designer before moving to the U.S. in 1946, where she moved into textile design.[3]
She was living with the Breuers when Hans Knoll saw her portfolio, he hired her as a textiles designer at his company, Knoll, where she began working under Marianne Strengell. In 1949, Haraszty was appointed director of KnollTextiles (the Knoll textiles department), a position she held until 1955.[4][5] Knoll's look in the 1950s and 60s can be attributed to Haraszty who reissued older prints in bolder colorwaves, including its ubiquitous red-orange color, revolutionizing commercial upholstery fabrics and textures.[6][5] Her designs were often floral and is best known for her Iceland poppy motif.[7] Under Haraszty, KnollTextiles explored then-novel fabrics, such as nylon, mixing them with other materials.[8][4]
In 1958, she opened her own studio in New York[5] and consulted at Victor Gruen Associates and IBM, as well as designing a line of women's clothing for B.H. Wragge. She also designed restaurant interiors at Expo 58 in Brussels and a children's playground for American President Lines.[2] As a lecturer at UCLA, Haraszty taught a course called "Design From Nature."[2]
Haraszty later moved to California where her work incorporated embroidery and crewel to create what she called "needlepainting." She wrote books on the subject and created needlepainting kits for production.[16]
Personal life
Haraszty quit Knoll to move to Coldwater Canyon, where she and her husband renovated a house in her signature bright colors and florals.[17]
Needlepainting : a garden of stitches, Eszter Haraszty, Bruce David Colen. 1974[18]
The Embroiderer's Portfolio of Flower Designs, Eszter Haraszty. 1981[19]
References
^Falino, Jeannine (2011). Crafting modernism: midcentury American art and design: [exhibition Crafting modernism. Midcentury American art and design, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, October 11, 2011 - January 15, 2012; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, February 27 - May 21, 2012]. New York: Abrams. p. 284. ISBN978-0810984806.