Detail of an embroidered “Lotus” portiere panel from Glessner House. Frances Glessner acquired four of these panels as kits from Morris & Co. for use on the doorways to either side of the parlor fireplace. Although the design is attributed to May Morris (1862-1938), the embroidery itself was done by the ladies of the Chicago Society of Decorative Art, as noted in Frances Glessner’s journal entry of November 17, 1888, “My curtains came home from the Dec. Art Society.”
The panels are silk, embroidered in satin and stem stitches, and display a single pattern top to bottom, with a decorative border. May Morris would have seen the portieres in place when she was invited by Frances Glessner to speak to her Monday Morning Reading Class at the house in November 1909. In 1918, Frances Glessner donated the four portiere panels to the Art Institute of Chicago - the first donation to that museum of Morris & Co. items. Three panels were eventually discarded due to their deteriorated condition; the fourth was extensively conserved for the “Morris and Company: The Business of Beauty” exhibition which ran from December 18, 2021 to June 13, 2022.
Click here to see additional images of the panel on the Art Institute of Chicago website.