About the Textile Collection

The orginal collection was formed in the 1980s and reflected the pedagogic principals of Constance Howard and Audrey Walker, two former Heads of Textiles at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Whilst Constance Howard established embroidery as a singular art form, Audrey Walker introduced an interdisciplinary approach to the subject by changing the name of the department from embroidery to textiles. This integrated approach is reflected in the diverse textile collection. Consequently many pieces from the collection became an essential resource for research teaching and teaching in studio practice.

The collection is an eclectic, international treasure trove of textiles which are extraordinarily rich in breadth and diversity, ranging from full-scale quilts to tiny fragments of embroidery and lace. There is a special archive of techno-fabrics from Nuno in Japan and donations by ex-graduates from the 1980s and 1990s.

Some records from this rich collection have been made available at the VADS (Visual Arts Data Service) web site, along with their other collections at:http://vads.ahds.ac.uk

We have an extensive textile reference library. Many of the books are no longer available or are rare first editions.

Subjects represented in the collection include: traditional clothing, folk art, social customs, textile materials, techniques and processes (such as weaving and embroidery), domestic textiles and catalogues of international museum collections and textiles reference works. There is a substantial section on textile and fibre art, which includes many exhibition catalogues as well as books and pamphlets on individual artists.

Many of the books are from Eastern Europe and are unique to the Collection.

The catalogue of books can be accessed via the main library catalogue: http://library.gold.ac.uk