Marianne Strengell papers
name: label: Creator
content: Strengell, Marianne, 1909-1998
label: Names
content: Cranbrook Academy of Art
label: Names
content: Hammarstrom, Olav, 1906-2002
topic: label: Occupation
content: Fiber artists -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills
label: Occupation
content: Weavers -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Hills
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Textile crafts
label: Topic
content: Weaving
label: Topic
content: Finnish Americans
label: Topic
content: Women educators
label: Topic
content: Women textile designers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Along with her husband Olav Hammarstrom, Marianne Strengell donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1982-1983 and 1989.
creator: label: Creator
content: Strengell, Marianne, 1909-1998
setName: label: See more items in
content: Marianne Strengell papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of weaver, fiber artist and educator Marianne Strengell date from 1904 to the 1980s and measure 1.5 linear feet. The scattered papers focus on Strengell's career as an artist and include biographical materials, correspondence, writings, six scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Finnish-American textile artist Marianne Strengell (1909-1998) was known for the use of synthetic fibers in her work. She was an educator and was at the Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1937 to 1962.

Born in Helsinki, Finland in 1909, Marianne Strengell studied industrial arts at a Helsinki university. She spent her early career designing textiles and rugs throughout Scandinavia but came to the United States in 1936. Strengell was invited to teach at the Cranbrook Academy of Art by Eliel Saarinen, a family friend. She began as a professor but became the head of the Department of Weaving and Textile Design after the retirement of Loja Saarinen. Strengell focused on texture in her weavings and often used synthetic fibers. She took many commissions during her career, including many for automotive companies in Detroit. Also, she exhibited her works at institutions and in print. 

Under the United States government in 1951, Strengell travelled to the Philippines to establish weaving as a cottage industry. In the mid-1960s she acted as a consultant on textile production to the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration with her husband, Olav Hammarstrom.

Marianne Strengell married fellow Cranbrook artist Charles Yerkes Dusenbury in 1940. They had two children but divorced in 1949. Later, she married architect Olav Hammarstorm.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1904-1980s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.stremari
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of weaver, fiber artist and educator Marianne Strengell date from 1904 to the 1980s and measure 1.5 linear feet. The scattered papers focus on Strengell's career as an artist and include biographical materials, correspondence, writings, six scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Additional papers are held at the Cranbrook Archives, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.