Red silk damask robe à l’anglaise

Robe à l’anglaise
Red silk damask
Circa 1775, England
Fabric by Anna Maria Garthwaite, 1751
Museum purchase, 2008.4.1
 

The silhouette of this dress is enhanced by the fabric’s rich color and vibrant pattern – a sumptuous display of fruit and flowers. The fabric was designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite, an important English textile designer and the only woman known to have worked in Spitalfields, a silk-weaving center in London. Garthwaite was a prolific designer whose work became synonymous with the Spitalfields style. The original drawing for this textile design is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.