Shells
1967 · Linen and silk, knit in shell knitting, ladder, fancy crossed throw, and knit into stitch below stitches
218.3 × 106.1 cm (86 × 41 3/4 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago
WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture
Mary Walker Phillips
Artist
WA-00028902
Textile
Representation
None documented
2
Institutional Exhibitions
2
Works in Collection
5
Assets Indexed
0
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
70%
Profile Completeness
Cultural Positioning
Influence Graph
No influence edges encoded yet.
Authority Records (1)
Selected Institutional Exhibitions
View all exhibitions →No image
Recent Acquisitions: Design Collection
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1970–1971
No image
Wall Hangings
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1969
Source Registry (1)
- MoMA bulk 2026-05-04Tier 1 · Institutional92%
About
Why this artist matters now
Mary Walker Phillips is an American weaver who treats the loom as a sculptural instrument, creating dimensional woven forms in linen, wool, and silk that depart from traditional tapestry conventions. Working within postwar abstraction, she developed distinctive fiber structures and surface techniques that prioritize the material's three-dimensional potential over representational imagery. Her practice established the loom as a tool for spatial and tactile invention rather than surface reproduction.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago
Graph relationships
Taste overlap and adjacency
Movement
—
Medium
Textile
Related Artists
6 in graph
Institutional
Museum Collections
Canonical record
Artworks (2)
Artwork sources (2)
2 published of 3 catalogued · 1 with image
- MoMA1 publishedof 2 catalogued
- Art Institute Chicago1 published1 img
Record
Images
Relationships
2Collections2
Institutional
Representation & Collections
In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
Art Institute of Chicago
Record