Cornish Farm

The son of a mill owner, in 1920 Alec Walker established his own textile firm Cryséde in Cornwall to manufacture dress silks. He met the French textile artist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) in 1923, who encouraged Walker to adapt his own paintings to make hand-block printed fabrics. This textile, entitled ‘Cornish Farm’, was made in 1930. Many Cryséde fabrics were dyed in bold, clashing colours similar to those used by the Fauves. Their loose, painterly style and subject matter were a vibrant contrast to the discreet floral dress fabrics typical of the time. From 1926 to 1929 Tom Heron, who later founded the firm of Cresta, was managing director of Cryséde.

Dress fabric · Cornwall · 1930. Block-printed silk. By Walker, Alec. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.