Treasures: Rug based on Matisse design is valuable

ShareThis

Dear Helaine and Joe:
In the early 1950s, my father-in-law was an executive for Alexander Smith Carpets, and he acquired this rug during his time there. The rug is 3 by 5 feet and is in perfect condition. What is its value?
Thank you,
J.F., Cincinnati
Dear J.F.:
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor, printmaker, designer and writer. He is known for his vibrant use of color, and for fluid draftsmanship.
In 1905, Matisse and some of his friends exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. Matisse had two paintings in a room that also contained a piece by Donatello (an Italian sculptor from the Italian Renaissance), and an art critic described the work as "Donatello among the wild beasts!"("Donatello au milieu des fauves!") The last part of this derisive comment stuck.
The Fauves often used bright colors as part of their expression, and their hues generally had no relationship to the natural colors of the items depicted. Matisse's style matured and in his later years he created a highly original series of works made of paper cutouts. Today, he is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century.
Matisse came to the United States in the early 1950s, and while he was here, he approached Alexander Smith Carpets about translating his artworks into wool. This design was based on a paper-cut collage Matisse created in 1949 and revised in 1951 -- the year the carpet belonging to J.F. was made.
Alexander Smith made a limited edition of 500 of these, and Matisse named them the Mimosa rug. While Picasso, Miro and other artists of the early 20th century had designs executed as floor coverings, this is the first and only pattern that Matisse specifically designed to be made into a carpet.
Alexander Smith started his carpet-manufacturing company in 1845 in West Farms, N.Y., and built his first mill in Yonkers in 1865. Smith was successful in large part due to innovative techniques developed with inventor Halcyon Skinner. They devised a power loom, which produced Axminster-style carpets.
Axminster is an English market town that is famous in the carpet industry for a type of power loom capable of weaving high-quality carpets with varying colors and patterns. The Alexander Smith Matisse Mimosa carpet in today's question is an Axminster-type rug.
Alexander Smith Carpets flourished, and in 1929 -- at the beginning of the Great Depression -- was the largest manufacturer of carpets and rugs in the world. It continued to be an important manufacturer until the end of World War II. In 1956, it merged with Mohawk Carpets to form Mohasco Industries.
For insurance-replacement value, this particular carpet is worth between $3,500 and $4,500.

(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN. 37927. E-mail them at treasures(at)knology.net.)

TREASURES IN YOUR ATTIC