Panel for interior of Air France Boeing 747 aircraft

Sheila Hicks

1969–1977

A large, semicircular interior panel of embroidered silk on polished cotton designed by Sheila Hicks to introduce a hand-crafted, tactile surface into the cabin of an Air France Boeing 747.

The work greets you as a warm, half-moon expanse whose closely stitched squares and subtle variations in pile read like a muted, tactile map that shifts with light and invites touch.

By bringing artisanal textile techniques into a commercial aircraft interior, Hicks helped redefine fiber as a modern design material and broadened the possibilities for textile art in public, architectural contexts.

Palette

Art Terms

Commission Design Textile Interior design Built environment Architectural fragment

Exhibitions

Eileen Gray

1980

Design Trends in Unit Furniture, Fabric and Tableware

1946

Good Design

1952

Good Design

1951