Tammis Keefe

Tammis Keefe
Born
Margaret Thomas Keefe

December 12, 1913
California, U.S.
DiedJune 5, 1960 (age 46)
Ridgefield, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationChouinard School of Art
PartnerMargaret Cousins

Tammis Keefe (December 12, 1913 – June 5, 1960), born Margaret Thomas Keefe, was an American textile designer, known for her colorful designs used on accessories such as handkerchiefs and scarves.

Early life and education

Keefe was born in California,[1] the daughter of Thomas F. Keefe and Emma Ellen Stone Keefe.[2] Her father died a few days after she was born; her mother was a nurse.[3] She was raised in Los Angeles, sharing a household with her maternal grandparents and aunts.[4] She began her studies in mathematics at Los Angeles Community College. After a trip to Chicago to see the 1933 World's Fair, she enrolled as an art student at the Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles.[5]

Career

After she graduated from art school, Keefe worked at Disney Studios,[6] and became the art director of Arts and Architecture magazine during World War II.[7] By 1948, Keefe was working as a textile designer for Dorothy Liebes Studio in San Francisco,[2][8] which provided textile designs to the furnishings firm, Goodall Industries.[6] She also created freelance designs for other home decorative lines and wallpaper for various firms.[9][10] She designed handkerchiefs commissioned by J. H. Kimball for Lord & Taylor in New York. Keefe was best known for her bright colors playful designs on handkerchiefs,[11] kitchen towels and scarves.[12][13] In 1960, her shirting fabrics were used for a line of blouses sold by G. Fox, where they were displayed with some of her original art.[14] Some of her designs were signed "Peg Thomas".[15] "Good modern design is simple and serene," she explained in 1949. "It doesn't break with the past—but it looks at the past with different eyes."[5]

Personal life and legacy

Keefe lived with writer and editor Margaret Cousins in New York City.[10] She died from lung cancer in 1960, at the age of 46, at her summer home in Ridgefield, Connecticut.[2] Fabric goods featuring her prints are considered collectible,[16][17] and can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,[18] the Cooper Hewitt[19] and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.[12]

In 2000, Keefe's work was included in an exhibit titled "A Woman's Hand: Designing Textiles in America, 1945-1969", at the Fashion Institute of Technology.[20] In 2013, some of her prints were reissued by Michael Miller Fabrics.[21]

References

  1. ^ Roe, Dorothy (1958-01-04). "Designer Praises Taste of Americans". Daily Sentinel. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "Tammis Keefe, 40, Dead; Textile Designer Had Been With Lord & Taylor". The New York Times. 1960-06-06. p. 29. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  3. ^ "Hospital Nurses' Chief Retires After 50 Years". The Los Angeles Times. 1958-11-30. p. 47. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ 1930 United States Census, via Ancestry.
  5. ^ a b Barnett, Muriel (1949-10-17). "Fabric Designer Tammis Keefe Sees Best Side of Modern Art". Los Angeles Mirror. p. 38. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Randall, Kimberly. "Tammis Keefe". A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes. Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  7. ^ "Keefe, Tammis, 1913-1960. Wilmington, Delaware: silk screen map on linen handkerchief circa 1944-1960" (PDF). University of Delaware Library. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  8. ^ Allen, Jane (1954-06-27). "Accessories Gay, Pleasing". The Sunday Oregonian. p. 68. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Mara, Margaret (1948-05-04). "Tammis Keefe Designs for You and You". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Hogarbome, Pat (1955-01-19). "Creative Talent Puts Color on Cloth". Press and Sun-Bulletin. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Dugas, Gaile (1956-02-02). "Tammis Keefe's Brush Causes Revolution in Handkerchief Design". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Kirkham, Pat (2002). Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300093314.
  13. ^ "Exotic Colors Mark New Fabric Designs". The New York Times. 1952-04-15. p. 24. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  14. ^ "Tammis Keefe Blouse Collection Here This Week". Hartford Courant. 1960-05-09. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Michael Miller Fabrics (2010-11-24). "A Tribute to Tammis Keefe". Retrieved 2025-06-29.
  16. ^ Smith, Emily (2004-09-18). "A whole lot of hanky panky going on". Lansing State Journal. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Guarnaccia, Helene (2004). Handkerchiefs : a collector's guide : identification & values. Internet Archive. Paducah, Ky : Collector Books. ISBN 978-1-57432-356-6.
  18. ^ "Tammis Keefe | Scarf | American | The Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  19. ^ "Tammis Keefe". Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  20. ^ Rohrlich, Marianne (2000-10-27). "Bold '50s fabrics celebrated". The Hamilton Spectator. p. 40. Retrieved 2025-06-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Kight, Kimberly (2011-11-16). A Field Guide to Fabric Design: Design, Print & Sell Your Own Fabric; Traditional & Digital Techniques. C&T Publishing Inc. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-60705-618-8.
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