Margaret Leischner

Margaret Leischner RDI (born April 15, 1907 in Bischofswerda as Frida Margarete Leischner ; died May 18, 1970 in Maplehurst , West Sussex , United Kingdom ) was a German-British textile designer and university professor . The former student at the Bauhaus was awarded a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 1969.

Life

Margarete Leischner was born as the daughter of master butcher Felix Arthur Leischner and his wife Anna Frieda in Bischofswerda and grew up in Dresden . She enrolled at the Bauhaus in Dessau in the winter semester of 1927/1928 and completed the preliminary course with Josef Albers . After Wassily Kandinsky introduced her to artistic design , she entered the weaving mill . After taking her journeyman's examination , Leischner became Gunta Stölzl's assistant in 1930 and managed the dye works . The following year she became a freelance designer at the Deutsche Werkstätten in Hellerau (Dresden). In addition, Leischner took over the management of the web department of the textile and fashion school of the city of Berlin (today HTW Berlin ). She was a member of the Deutscher Werkbund and joined the Reichskunstkammer after 1933 in order to continue working as a designer.

In 1938 Leischner emigrated to England, where she soon called herself Margaret Leischner. She worked for Team Valley Weaving Industries in Gateshead , which was being established at the time. After the outbreak of the Second World War , she was initially spared from internment . As an enemy alien , Leischner was interned on the Isle of Man from at least April 1940 to August 1942 . After her release, she continued to work for the British textile industry. She also had contacts with influential people, such as Herbert Read . She maintained close contacts with the emigrated Bauhaus members Lucia Moholy and Heinz Loew and later contacted Walter Gropius and Joost Schmidt by letter .

Leischner designed new yarns and fabrics for a number of companies, including testing and experimenting with new materials. In 1948, three years after the end of the war, she was appointed professor at the Royal College of Art in London , where she led the weaving class. During this time she developed aircraft interiors for BOAC , and the design of new covers for furniture and car seats was also part of her area of ​​activity. In 1955, Leischner worked as a consultant in India , above all she supported the establishment of hand-weaving mills in Kashmir . In 1959 she designed a series of floor coverings made of sisal fibers for Irish Ropes . Irish Ropes advertised with Leischner's name and photo in their brochures and leaflets. In 1963 she finished teaching in London. Her student Eileen Ellis was her successor at Irish Ropes / Tintawn Carpets in 1967 , as Leischner was suffering from cancer .

Leischner was accepted as a member of the Society of Industrial Artists in 1952, whose Textile Group she founded. The Royal Society of Arts honored her in 1969 by accepting her into the Royal Designers for Industry.

Margaret Leischner RDI died on May 18, 1970 in Maplehurst, West Sussex.

literature

• Burcu Dogramaci: Bauhaus Transfer. The textile designer Margaret Leischner (1907–1970) in Dessau and in exile in Britain . In: Inge Hansen-Schaberg (Ed.): Women of the Bauhaus during the Nazi era. Persecution and exile. edition text + kritik, Munich 2012. ISBN 978-3-86916-212-6 . Pp. 95-116.
• Burcu Dogramaci: Margarete Leischner . In: Elizabeth Otto , Patrick Rösler (ed.): Women at the Bauhaus. Pioneering modern artists. Knesebeck, Munich 2019. ISBN 978-3-95728-230-9 . P. 108f.
• Margarete Leischner . In: Patrick Rössler , Elizabeth Otto : Women at the Bauhaus. Pioneering modern artists. Knesebeck, Munich 2019. ISBN 978-3-95728-230-9 . Pp. 108-109.

Web links

• Kunstgewerbemuseum Dresden : Margaret Leischner (Against Invisibility) .