Katherine Rothkopf

Where Matisse was born in France in the Northern part of France was so well known for its textile industry. He grew up in a very small town and wasn’t really exposed to museums in art paintings in the way we think of them. The art that he saw growing up really was based more on technical design. Many of his relatives and neighbors were making beautiful textiles in the towns of Bowan and Lacato [Phonetic][0:00:27]. And in fact starting in the late nineteenth century, those weavers and textile designers were providing their wares to the great fashion houses in Paris. And Matisse always has this love for textiles and collected little pieces of things throughout his life. And when he moved to Nice in the teens, he brought down trunks full of things he had collected and he continued to collect.