Lillian Elliott

American
(1930–1994)

Untitled Wall Hanging
1970

Woven mylar on wooden dowell
66.5 x 24.5 x 0.25 in.
Gift of Patrick Mather in memory of Dorothy Mather.
2019.22

Though trained as a painter, Elliott is most famous for her work in fiber arts, to which she was introduced as an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley. Elliott notes that when first asked to teach a weaving class at Berkeley, she was terrified due to her limited experience with the medium. She discovered, however, that weaving was a lot like painting, and she could incorporate colored fibers into her weaving as if they were paint on a canvas. Later in her career, Elliott took to making baskets out of a variety of materials, such as paper, bark, twine, cloth, and zippers. Elliott primarily focused on form and shape in her work, wanting each of her works to be unique and visually engaging.

---

This object has the following keywords:

• black
• brown
• peach - Various tones of pinkish yellow, referring to the color of the stain of the juice of the fruit of the peach, a low spreading tree of the rose family that is widely cultivated.
• pink
• red
• rhombuses - Geometric figures having four equal sides and equal opposite angles, particularly where there are no right angles, as contrasted with a square; an oblique equilateral parallelogram.
• silver
• textiles - General term for carpets, fabrics, costume, or other works made of textile materials, which are natural or synthetic fibers created by weaving, felting, knotting, twining, or otherwise processing. For works of art or high craft that employ textile as a medium, prefer "textile art (visual works)."
• triangles
• yellow

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Women, Surrealism, and Abstraction , 8/25/2020 - 7/9/2022

Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios: