id: 109638 accession number: 1928.269 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1928.269 updated: 2025-05-07 16:53:56.507000 Je T'aime (No. 632), 1927. Kneeland (Ruzzie) Green (American 1892–1956), Stehli Silks Corporation (America, Lancaster, PA, and New York, 1840–c. 1955). Silk crepe: plain weave, roller printed; 51.4 x 95.9 cm (20 1/4 x 37 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Stehli Silks Corporation, 1928.269 title: Je T'aime (No. 632) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1927 creation date earliest: 1927 creation date latest: 1927 current location: creditline: Gift of the Stehli Silks Corporation copyright: --- culture: America, New York technique: Silk crepe: plain weave, roller printed department: Textiles collection: Textiles type: Textile find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Kneeland (Ruzzie) Green (American 1892–1956) - designer Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Kneeland L'Amoureux Green adopted the nickname “Ruzzie” while attending the Art Students League in New York. After graduating in 1917, he worked as a freelance illustrator and layout specialist for commercial clients until he was employed as chief illustrator—and later art director—for the Stehli Silks Corporation, a leading textile design firm of the 1920s. After his time at Stehli Silks, Green was hired as art director for Harper’s Bazaar, where he remained until he turned to commercial photography in 1932. From the 1930s through the 1950s, Green's commercial work appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Ladies’ Home Journal, and McCall’s. Despite his relative obscurity today, Green was one of the best-known and most accomplished commercial photographers of his generation; his photographs blurred the boundary between fashion photography and commercial illustration. * Stehli Silks Corporation (America, Lancaster, PA, and New York, 1840–c. 1955) - manufactured by Founded in 1837 in Obfelden, Switzerland, by the Stehli family, the original cotton mill transitioned to weaving silk in 1840. By the 1890s, half of the silk produced by Stehli was being shipped to the United States; at that point moving production closer to the customer base made economic sense. Stehli opened their first US mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1898 and at the same time established an office in New York City, becoming one of the first American silk manufacturers. By the mid-1920s, Stehli operated five mills in three states—Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. In those two decades, Stehli’s business increased fourteen fold. A significant product line was their three Americana Prints series of 1925-1927, under art director and artist Kneeland “Ruzzie” Green. In a deliberate attempt to shift the silk industry away from traditional French design, the three series focused on imagery of contemporary American life. Fifteen well-known artists were commissioned to design 86 silk patterns. --- measurements: 51.4 x 95.9 cm (20 1/4 x 37 3/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Art Deco opening date: 1973-12-02T05:00:00 Art Deco. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (organizer) (December 2, 1973-January 27, 1974). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Green, Kneeland L. “Modern Life, Ordinary Things, Design: Americana Fabrics.” The Studio: An illustrated magazine of fine and applied art. London : Offices of the Studio, v. 97. 1929. page number: p. 102-107 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.269/1928.269_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.269/1928.269_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.269/1928.269_full.tif