Ethel Wallace Modeling a Batik Robe

Wallace opened her own New York shop in 1922, where she sold her artwork and clothing designs. At the time, women artists were often not seen as serious professionals, and their work—especially those working in textiles, a medium associated with women’s domestic life—was referred to as “decorations.”

Her success gained her attention from luxury retailers like Hickson, Bonwit Teller, and Robert McBratney & Co. They commissioned her to produce hand-printed linens and thousands of yards of dyed velvet and crepe. Art patron Gertrude Whitney (1875-1942) held an exhibition of Wallace’s work at her New York studio, and Wallace traveled to Paris to pitch her designs to the couturiers.