Lillian Holm (American, b. Sweden, 1896-1979) Tapestry, USA, 1930s/1940s

Wool, linen, cotton backing
Unmarked

H: 86, W: 58 in. (approximate)

Note

A Philadelphia architect, Helen Pratt married Roger Sherman Pratt in 1962, while they were both in graduate architecture school at the University of Pennsylvania. Pratt was the son of Trude Lash, the political activist and close associate of Eleanor Roosevelt. Helen Pratt describes the history of this tapestry as follows:

"In 1970, my husband Roger Sherman Pratt and I were at his mother’s house (Trude Lash) for dinner in the Village in New York City. We were about to return home to Philadelphia (to Panama Street). Just before we left, Trude handed me a package she brought down from upstairs. She gave it to me saying she wanted me to have what was in the package; she told me it was a gift from the Norwegian First Secretary General of the United Nations, Trygve Lie, to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Trude told me she hadn’t known what to do with the tapestry up to that point. The tapestry was wrapped in brown paper and I didn’t open it till I got home. I opened it while in our master bedroom and realized that she had given me a tapestry."

Provenance

Acquired as a gift from Trygve Lie to Eleanor Roosevelt

Acquired as a gift from Eleanor Roosevelt to Trude Lash

Acquired as a gift from Trude Lash to her daughter-in-law, Helen Pratt

The Collection of Helen Pratt