id: 109978 accession number: 1928.585 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1928.585 updated: 2025-06-13 19:15:36.427000 Americana Prints: April (No. 706), 1927. Clayton Knight (American, 1891–1969), Stehli Silks Corporation (America, Lancaster, PA, and New York, 1840–c. 1955). Silk: plain weave, roller printed; overall: 48.3 x 51.4 cm (19 x 20 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Stehli Silks Corporation, 1928.585 title: April (No. 706) title in original language: series: Americana Prints 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: plain weave, roller printed department: Textiles collection: Textiles type: Textile find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Clayton Knight (American, 1891–1969) - designed by Clayton Knight studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago under such notable American artists as Robert Henri and Geroge Bellows and later taught there. Considered the premiere aviation illustrator of the 1910s and 1920, Knight had been an aviator during World War I. He was also a book and advertising illustrator and muralist. Knight created large-scale aviation murals for the Gotham Hotel in New York and the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. He also contributed stage sets and costumes to at least one Broadway production. * Stehli Silks Corporation (America, Lancaster, PA, and New York, 1840–c. 1955) - manufacturer 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: Overall: 48.3 x 51.4 cm (19 x 20 1/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- 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: Mendes, Valerie D. Novelty Fabrics. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1988. page number: plate 11 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.585/1928.585_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.585/1928.585_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1928.585/1928.585_full.tif