Gloria Dale papers
name: label: Creator
content: Dale, Gloria
label: Names
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Albers, Anni
label: Names
content: Avery, Sally
label: Names
content: Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984
label: Names
content: Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971
label: Names
content: Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997
topic: label: Occupation
content: Textile designers -- England
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women designers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Gloria Dale papers were donated in 2001 by Gloria S. Finn Dale (Lady Gloria Dale) as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
creator: label: Creator
content: Dale, Gloria
setName: label: See more items in
content: Gloria Dale papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of London textile designer Gloria Dale measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1952 to 1970. The collection provides scattered documentation of Dale's life through correspondence, photocopies of printed material, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: New York native Gloria Dale (1922 -2013) was a textile designer in London, England, known for her artistry in rug designs.

Dale taught herself rug tufting while living in Washington, D.C. in her late 20s, and would sometimes employ modern painters to create designs for her rugs. She became interested in crafts throughout the Americas after traveling to Mexico and Cuba in 1957 and  organized a 1962 exhibition, Magic Carpets, featuring rug designs by María Luisa Pacheco, Carlos Mérida, and several other artists from Central and South America. 

In 1966, Dale married Sir William Dale, a prominent British lawyer. The couple lived in the Middle East in the 1970s, where Dale began designing bead jewelry inspired by the antique beads she found locally. She continued exploring new materials into her late 80s, taking up felting and creating abstract felts from wool which led to her membership in Britain's Contemporary Applied Arts in 2012. Dale was also a longtime patron of the British Crafts Council.

Dale died in London in 2013.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1952-1970
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.daleglor
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2022.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of London textile designer Gloria Dale measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1952 to 1970. The collection provides scattered documentation of Dale's life through correspondence, photocopies of printed material, and photographs. 

The papers comprise photocopies of clippings about Dale; correspondence with Theodoros Stamos, Anni Albers, Irene Rice Pereira, Jimmy Ernst, Sally Avery, Lloyd Goodrich, and others; photocopies of the catalog for the Magic Carpets (1962) exhibition; photographs of Dale and rugs; and a typescript draft by Dale regarding the National Collection of Fine Art. Also found is a file for the exhibition Tapestries and Rugs by Contemporary Painters and Sculptors (1966-1967) at the Museum of Modern Art which includes a catalog introduction draft, loan forms, artwork checklists, and a form documenting the donation of a tapestry by Theodoros Stamos.