Toccata|||’Toccata’ fabric design

This screen printed heavy cotton textile was designed by artist-designer Robert Tierney in 1960 for leading manufacturer David Whitehead Ltd. The pattern uses geometric shapes and bright colours that have been designed to create a painted effect. Textiles designed by artists were popular with British consumers during the 1960s. This particular textile was used to make curtains for a boy’s bedroom in Southgate, London. The material was probably bought in John Lewis on Oxford Street in 1963. The householder wanted to give her sons furnishings that were not ‘babyish.’