Work by Marianne Straub’s artistic friends fills many pages of her scrapbook. This double-page spread is on show in the Fry Gallery now.
Misha Black drew these cheerful cats (1). One of the key figures in design in the UK in the twentieth century, Misha had a long association with Marianne. He commissioned her fabrics for the Festival of Britain, for the P&O liner Oriana, and for London Transport. Misha proposed Marianne for the Society of Industrial Artists (SIA) in 1945 and served with her on their International Relations Committee. A London bus seat covered with the Straub moquette fabric is on display in the Fry Gallery.
The abstract design (2) is from John Lawrence, whose link to Marianne we have yet to determine.
Marianne’s textiles were frequently exhibited in shows by the Cotton Board (3), an organisation to oversee the organisation, research, marketing and promoting of the UK cotton textile industry.
Alec Butler Hunter (4) worked for many years with Marianne at Warners of Braintree. His roles ranged from production director at Warners, to president of the Society of Industrial Artists, and Squire of the Thaxted Morris Men. His Morris waistcoat, made of Marianne’s ‘Norwich’ fabric, is on show in the gallery. In this Christmas Card he depicts the view from under the arches of Thaxted’s Guildhall.
The image of figures with heads of sheep (5) was drawn by Françoise Taylor, Marianne’s Belgian-born artist friend from Bolton.
We are not sure how Marianne came to meet the illustrator Franciszka Themerson, who drew the saxophonist in (6). Originally from Poland, she moved to Paris and then London. She founded, with her husband Stefan, the avant-garde publishing house Gaberbocchus Press.