Cotton Prints c. 1940

Erskine Carter created these cotton prints, but we don’t know exactly when. At first glance, we may be reminded of wallpaper, but these prints were likely designed for textiles. As we consider the title and date, it's hard not to think about the legacy of cotton in the United States. Born a few years before the Civil War, Carter lived through a period of Reconstruction and its undoing, where black labor was exploited. He would have also witnessed the rise of industrialization, which included textile production. What do these designs tell us about the culture that produced them? The floral and vine motifs might evoke a sense of natural beauty, yet they were also made for a market that was deeply entwined with the history of racial capitalism. Although the patterns seem harmless, they act as a reminder of the complicated relationship between aesthetics, industry, and the exploitation of labor that has defined much of American history.