Claire Murray Design Hand-Hooked Wool Rug, Coastal Scene With Sailboats and Seashells

Details

Description

Claire Murray Design Hooked Wool Rug, Coastal Scene with Sailboats and Seashells
Late 20th century

This hooked wool rug was … Read more Claire Murray Design Hooked Wool Rug, Coastal Scene with Sailboats and Seashells
Late 20th century

This hooked wool rug was designed by the American textile artist Claire Murray, the wool pile worked on a cotton foundation over a deep wine-red field. A central oval reserve holds a New England shore scene: a small sailboat with a red-and-white striped sail crosses pale blue water toward a sandy beach, a second sail set further out, while a shingled house stands among dunes and beach grass to the right. The oval is framed by a twisted blue-and-white rope that loops at each corner, and in the four corners are large conch and whelk shells shaded in tan, cream, pink, and grey. A plain line border encloses the whole. The hooking is fine and even throughout, in soft blues, greens, sand, and cream against the red ground.

Dimensions
Length: 46½ inches (118.1 cm)
Width: 33½ inches (85.1 cm)

Provenance
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge.

Condition
The rug is in good condition, the colours fresh and the hooking sound throughout, with light surface wear commensurate with age and use. The maker’s label to the reverse records a wool surface on a cotton canvas, a finished size of 34 by 47 inches. Professional rug cleaning is recommended.

Historical Context
Claire Murray is among the best-known American designers of hand-hooked rugs. Self-taught in the craft, which she discovered during a winter on Nantucket, she built a small hobby into a celebrated home-decor brand, her coastal, nautical, and floral designs — worked in hand-dyed wool to her own colour palette — becoming synonymous with New England seaside style. Her rugs are individually hand-hooked, and this shore scene with its sailboats, shingled house, and shell-and-rope border is a characteristic example of her maritime work.

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