Althea McNish (1924–2020) was an artist from Trinidad who became the first

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

textile designer Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

to earn an international reputation. Born in Trinidad, McNish moved to Britain in the 1950s. She was associated with the

Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the Whitworth Museum, the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, the

Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture The Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDA) is a museum in North London, England, housing one of the most comprehensive collections of 19th- and 20th-century decorative arts for the home. The collection is designated as being of outstan ...

and the Cooper-Hewitt (Smithsonian Design Museum), among other places. McNish was a Fellow of the

Chartered Society of Designers The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is a professional body for designers. It is the only Royal Chartered body of experienced designers. Its membership is multi-disciplinary – representing designers in all design, disciplines including I ...

. She was married to the jewellery designer John Weiss (1933–2018).Tessler, Gloria (13 December 2018)
"Obituary: John Saul Weiss"
''

Jewish Chronicle Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

''.

Background

Early years

Althea Marjorie McNish was born in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, around 1933. Her father, the writer Joseph Claude McNish, was descended from the Merikin settlers in

. She painted as a child, helped with her mother's dressmaking business by doing sketches, was a junior member of the Trinidad Arts Society and had her first exhibition at the age of 16."Bringing the tropics to post-war Britain"
''Good At Looking'', 3 August 2018. Her influences included local artists Sybil Atteck,

Amy Leong Pang Amy Leong Pang (1908–1989) was a painter from Trinidad and Tobago. Of Chinese descent, Leong Pang was born in Princes Town and sent to school in China; she is known to have painted while there. After her return to Trinidad and Tobago she moved t ...

and

Boscoe Holder Boscoe Holder (16 July 1921 – 21 April 2007), born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and ...

, and European modernists such as

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

Move to London

In 1951 McNish moved with her mother to London, England, to join her father there.

Anne Walmsley Anne Walmsley (born 1931) is a British-born editor, scholar, critic and author, notable as a specialist in Caribbean art and literature, whose career spans five decades. She is widely recognised for her work as Longman's Caribbean publisher, and f ...

(1992), ''The Caribbean Artists Movement 1966–1972: A Literary and Cultural Study'', London/Port of Spain:

New Beacon Books New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature. Founded in 1966 by John La Rose and Sarah White, it was the ...

, p. 18. She already had a place to study at the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in t ...

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

but instead took courses at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts, the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. In her final year at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts, she became interested in textiles with the encouragement of

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

, and chose printed textiles as her subject of study on progressing to the Royal College of Art, where her talent was recognised by

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

. On graduating, she immediately won a commission from Arthur Stewart-Liberty, head of the

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

department store, sending her the same day by taxi to

Zika Ascher Zika Ascher (3 April 1910 – 5 September 1992), born Zikmund Ascher and nicknamed "The Mad Silkman", was a Czech Republic, Czech textile businessman, artist and designer who became pre-eminent in the related fields of United Kingdom, British t ...

, who commissioned her to design a collection for

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

. Successfully designing for such prestigious clients, McNish was the first Caribbean woman to achieve prominence in this field. In 1966, McNish designed fabrics for the official wardrobe of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

's during the Queen's visit to Trinidad. She took part in the art exhibitions of the

Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,John La Rose John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and transmitted on 3 February 1973, she brought together the work of CAM visual artists as a studio setting for CAM writers, musicians and film-makers. More recently, her work — represented by three printed textiles from early in her career: ''Golden Harvest'', ''Pomegranate'' and ''Fresco'' — was featured in the exhibition ''RCA Black: Past, Present & Future'' (31 August–6 September 2011), organised by the Royal College of Art in collaboration with the African and African-Caribbean Design Diaspora (AACDD) to celebrate art and design by African and African-Caribbean graduates.

Partnership with John Weiss

In 1969 she married John Weiss, architect, jeweller and historian, and worked in partnership with him from 1971. They were in conversation with John La Rose on 2 February 1999 as part of the "Life Experience With Britain" series held at

(other participants included Dennis Bovell,

Gus John Augustine John (born 11 March 1945)Biography
, Gus John website. is a Grenada, Grenadian-born writer, e ...

, Rev.

Wilfred Wood Wilfred Wood VC (2 February 1897 – 3 January 1982) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. The VC ...

, Aggrey Burke,

Yvonne Brewster Yvonne Jones Brewster (née Clarke; born 7 October 1938) is a Jamaican actress, theatre director and businesswoman, known for her role as Ruth Harding in the BBC television soap opera ''Doctors''. She co-founded the theatre companies Talawa in ...

, and Alexis Rennie). At the time of Weiss's death in 2018, Jake Leith, former president of the

, said: "John and Althea were great ambassadors for the UK Fashion and Textile Design Sector." McNish died in April 2020, at Spring Lane nursing home in

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

Notable designs

Most of McNish's designs are based on nature though some use abstract themes, occasionally geometric. One of her first designs to go into production, ''Golden Harvest'' in 1957, was a screen print on cotton satin, later manufactured by Hull Traders (for whom she also created eight other patterns), the design being based on an

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

wheatfield but using tropical colours. A number of her early designs including ''Tropic'', a dress fabric printed on silk and produced by Zika Ascher in 1959, and '' Gilia'', a cotton furnishing fabric featuring tropical foliage in green and gold, produced by Hull Traders in 1961, are in the textile collection at the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Also in 1959, for a commission by the

Design Research Unit The Design Research Unit (DRU) was one of the first generation of British design consultancies combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was founded by the managing director of Stuart Advertising Agency, Marcus Brum ...

for the new SS ''Oriana'', which was launched in November 1959 and was the last of the

Orient Steam Navigation Company The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century onwards, an association began with P&O which became 51% shareholde ...

's ocean liners, she produced murals for two restaurants, ''Rayflower'' and ''Pineapples and pomegranates'', laminated into Warerite plastic panels, a line later pursued by

Perstorp Group PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris, France. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, the historical principal investment activity of Paribas, which sta ...

. The 1960 modernisation of the interior of the

Port of Spain General Hospital Port of Spain General Hospital is a public hospital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The main building was once a Colonial hospital that began construction in 1854, using local stone and imported brick facing to provide a Classical style f ...

, Trinidad, by the architects Devereux and Davies, included murals by McNish. In 1997, reviewing the exhibition ''Transforming the Crown: African, Asian and Caribbean Artists in Britain, 1966–1996'', in which McNish participated at the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

, New York, with other CAM artists, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that she "produces abstract, geometric fabric designs inspired by African motifs". In 2018 McNish was named in ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' as one of "Five Female Designers Who Changed History" (alongside

Maija Isola Maija Sofia Isola (15 March 1927 – 3 March 2001) was a Finnish designer of printed textiles, and the creator of over 500 patterns, including ''Unikko'' ("Poppy"). The bold, colourful prints she created as the head designer of Marimekko made t ...

Norma Merrick Sklarek Norma Merrick Sklarek (April 15, 1926 – February 6, 2012) was an American architect. Sklarek was the first African American woman to become a licensed architect in the states of New York (1954) and California (1962). Her notable works include t ...

Muriel Cooper Muriel Cooper (1925 – May 26, 1994) was a pioneering book designer, digital designer, researcher, and educator. She was the first design director of the MIT Press, instilling a Bauhaus-influenced design style into its many publications. She move ...

, and

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...

). McNish featured in the 2018

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary film ''Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain's Hidden Art History'', in which Brenda Emmanus followed

Sonia Boyce Sonia Dawn Boyce, (born 1962) is a British Afro-Caribbean artist and educator, living and working in London. She is a Professor of Black Art and Design at University of the Arts London. Boyce's research interests explore art as a social practic ...

and a team she led in preparing an exhibition at

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

, focusing on artists of African and Asian descent who have played a part in shaping the history of British art.

Legacy

In 2022, a major retrospective of her work, entitled ''Althea McNish: Colour is Mine'', was mounted (2 April–11 September 2022) at the

William Morris Gallery The William Morris Gallery is a museum devoted to the life and works of William Morris, an English Arts and Crafts designer and early socialist. It is located in Walthamstow at Water House, a substantial Grade II* listed Georgian home. The ext ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, east London, sponsored by Liberty Fabrics. Co-curator Rosie Sinclair of

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

, observes: "Perhaps following this exhibition people will take another look at furnishings and fashion fabrics and wonder why colour became such an important part of new design taste in post-modern society and think about the individuals, a design pioneer such as Althea, who made this happen." Sinclair has also said: "She's a rare Black woman within international textile history. She broke boundaries." Coinciding with the exhbition, Liberty Fabrics reissued a capsule collection of McNish's original designs.

Selected exhibitions

;Solo exhibitionsAlthea McNish Bibliography and Exhibitions
AAVAD. * 1958: ''Althea McNish''. Woodstock Gallery, London. * 1982: ''Althea McNish''. People's Gallery, London. * 1997: ''Althea McNish''. Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London. * 2003: ''Althea McNish: My World of Colour: the international work and inspirations of a Black British Trinidadian textile designer''.

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

, Athens, USA. * 2022: ''Althea McNish: Colour is Mine''. William Morris Gallery, London. ;Group exhibitions * 1961: ''Paintings by Trinidad and Tobago Artists''. Commonwealth Institute, London. * 1967: ''Caribbean Artists Movement''. Theatre Royal, Stratford. * 1968: ''Caribbean Artists Movement''.

Digby Stuart College Digby Stuart College is one of the four constituent colleges of the University of Roehampton. The college was established in 1874 as Wandsworth College, a women's teacher training college, by the Roman Catholic Society of the Sacred Heart, an or ...

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

and

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, London. * 1971: ''Caribbean Artists in England''. Commonwealth Institute, London. * 1975: ''Caribbean Women Artists Exhibition''. Olympia International Arts Centre,

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. * 1978: ''Afro-Caribbean Art''. Artists Market, London, organised by Drum Arts Centre. * 1978: ''The Way We Live Now''. Victoria & Albert Museum, London. * 1981: ''INDIGO '81 International Exhibition''. Indigo,

Lille, France Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

. * 1982: ''Commonwealth Festival Exhibition''.

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. * 1986: ''Make or Break''. Henry Moore Gallery, London. * 1996: ''Caribbean Connection 2: Island Pulse''. Islington Arts Factory, London. * 1997: ''Transforming the Crown: African, Asian & Caribbean Artists in Britain, 1966–1996''. Caribbean Cultural Center,

, and

Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by A ...

, New York. * 1997: ''Trinidad and Tobago Through the Eye of the Artist: From Cazabon to the New Millennium 1813–2000''.

Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...

, London. Exhibition in celebration of the 35th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. * 1998: ''Six into One: Artists from the Caribbean''. Morley Gallery, London. * 2007: ''Trade and Empire: Remembering Slavery''.

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfor ...

, University of Manchester, Manchester. *2011: ''RCA Black''. Royal College of Art, London. * 2019: ''Get Up, Stand Up Now.'' Somerset House, London.

Awards and accolades

* 1976: Chaconia Medal (Gold), Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, "for long and meritorious service to art and design" * 1988: Scarlet Ibis Award, Trinidad and Tobago High Commission, London * 2006: Honorary Doctor of Fine Art,

University of Trinidad and Tobago The University of Trinidad and Tobago, also known as UTT, is a state owned university in Trinidad and Tobago established in 2004. Its main campus, currently under construction, will be located at Wallerfield in Trinidad. Presently, its campuses a ...

Doughty, Melissa (5 December 2016)
"Colouring the world How textile expert changed world view"
''Trinidad and Tobago Newsday''. Reprinted with added photographs a
''Repeating Islands''
7 December 2016. * 2008: Journalist Angela Cobbinah described her as "immediately influential, helping to establish new furnishing trends as well as inspire more adventurous fashion designers further down the line like

Zandra Rhodes Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, (born 19 September 1940), is an English fashion and textile designer. Her early education in fashion set the foundation for a career in the industry creating textile prints. Rhodes has designed garments for Diana, ...

." * 2012: Jubilee Gala Award for Achievement in the Arts at the UK High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago, celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence.

References

External links

*
"Althea Marjorie McNISH"
at ''Debrett's People of Today''.
"Dr. Althea McNish in conversation with John Weiss"
Stuart Hall Library, InIVA, 2015
"Audio recordings of Althea McNish in conversation with John Weiss"
InIVA, 5 May 2015.
"Designer Desire: Althea McNish"
''H is for Home Harbinger'', 18 August 2018. * Angela Cobbinah
"Althea: the original material girl"
''

Camden New Journal The ''Camden New Journal'' is a British independent newspaper published in the London Borough of Camden. It was launched by editor Eric Gordon (who died on 5 April 2021, aged 89) in 1982 following a two-year strike at its predecessor, the ''Ca ...

'', 20 June 2019. * Libby Sellers
"Althea McNish"
''Maharam''. * Jess Johnson

Liberty, From the Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:McNish, Althea 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians Black British artists British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent British textile designers Caribbean Artists Movement people People from Port of Spain Recipients of the Chaconia Medal Trinidad and Tobago artists Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom Trinidad and Tobago people of American descent Trinidad and Tobago women artists