Topic : Dorothy Liebes, Weaver and Businesswoman presented by Liz Schott

Dorothy Liebes was a famous, influential weaver and fabric designer for Hollywood, swanky public places, and high-end clothing and interior designers. She was best known for her creative use of color and texture. At a time when synthetic materials were becoming more widely available, she worked with industry to make creative modern designs available to the broader public. Leading up to the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, Liebes traveled for six weeks in Europe to collect examples of modern design for the Decorative Arts Pavilion. Then she worked with the Red Cross to provide rehabilitative arts-and-crafts training for wounded soldiers during WWII. With studios in San Francisco and New York, she was a successful businesswoman, well known in magazines and television.

Our lecturer is Liz Schott, a former educational leader, is researching and writing a biography of Dorothy Liebes. In June, she received the Biographers International Organization's Hazel Rowley Prize for her proposal for Useful and Beautiful: The Life of Dorothy Wright Liebes. Her presentation is illustrated with many interesting photographs. Liz lives in Sebastopol, California.