American Rugs & Carpets

American rugs are diverse in origin, material, technique, and design. Some of the most well-known examples are hooked rugs and the whimsical designs of 1960s rugs.

American hooked rugs are indigenous to the Northeast. Prior to the mid-1800s, imported carpets were a luxury of the wealthy class. With the opening of trade with other countries, new materials became available, including the burlap sacking used to ship trade goods from the West Indies. The wide weave of the burlap allowed for easy manipulation of textiles using strips of fabric and a framework of boards. Rug hooking allowed the lower economic classes to create artistic floor coverings at little cost, and rug hookers incorporated their own flair into the pieces, ensuring that each rug was an original. Hooked rugs began to be hung as wall art in the 1930s, when there was a resurgence of interest in the artform.

Beginning in the mid-1900s, American rug designs embraced a fun and modern style that followed the art movements of the time. Pop artist Robert Indiana scavenged abandoned warehouses in New York for material for his sculptures. After his discovery of brass stencils, Indiana’s works came to life with bright colors and short, powerful words. Known by the title “Classic Love”, Indiana’s famous Love Rug was created for a Christmas card for the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1964.

Quick Facts

• Grenfell Industries was started in Canada in 1893 as a way for poor fishing families to make extra money by selling hooked rugs to tourists, but today these designs are coveted by collectors
• The earliest American rugs were made for tables and beds, rather than the floor
• A Robert Indiana original “Classic Love” rug sold for $1,794 at Bonhams auction house in 2010