Anakreon

Josef Frank Swedish, born Austria
Manufacturer Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm Swedish

Not on view

Frank was born and trained as a designer in Austria, where his work was greatly admired. In 1933, after rejecting the calls of the younger generation of Austrian modernists for a unified modern style, he moved to Stockholm, where he became the artistic director of Svenskt Tenn, a design company and retail establishment that promoted Swedish modern design. While at the firm, he created furniture, interiors, and more than 160 boldly colored printed textiles, many of which are still in production. A keen amateur botanist, Frank incorporated plant and floral motifs in nearly all his designs. The motif used for Anakreon (named after the famous Greek poet) was adapted from a fragment of a fresco from the New Palace of Knossos on Crete and incorporates flowers and plants typical of the island.

Anakreon, Josef Frank (Swedish (born Austria) 1885–1967), Printed linen

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.