Ingrid Dessau

At Konstfack in Stockholm, where she studied from 1940 to 1945, her abilities caught the attention of professor Barbro Nilsson. Nilsson arranged for Dessau to work at the Märta Måås-Fjetterström studio in Båstad, one of the most demanding environments in Swedish textile art. There, surrounded by the flat-weave tradition that MMF had elevated into a modern idiom, Dessau developed the precise geometric sensibility and restrained palette that would define her mature work.

The public breakthrough came in 1953, when she showed alongside ceramicist Signe Persson-Melin at Galerie Moderne in Stockholm. The following year she joined Kasthall, the carpet manufacturer in Kinna, where she served as head designer for nearly 25 years. She also produced designs for Kinnasand and Hitex, working mainly on curtain and upholstery textiles. Her abstract compositions, built from repeating geometric motifs, were rooted in the rölakan technique - a flat-weave method she used with particular skill throughout her career.

In 1991, she received a commission that would ensure her name endured: Klässbols Linneväveri asked her to design the tablecloth and napkins for the Nobel Prize dinner, which that year celebrated its 90th anniversary. The Nobel series was awarded the Excellent Swedish Form prize in 1992 and has been used at the Nobel dinner every year since. Her other clients included the Swedish parliament.

On the auction market, Dessau's work appears regularly at Swedish houses, with particular concentration at Stockholms Auktionsverk Helsingborg, Bukowskis, and Auktionsmagasinet Vänersborg. Among the 20 items recorded on Auctionist, the top result was a rölakan titled 'Vinterträd, grå' which sold for 9,888 SEK. Her Angel Eyes carpet for Kinnasand and the Nobel tablecloth for Klässbols also appear in the market. Prices remain modest relative to her historical significance, making her work accessible for collectors interested in mid-century Swedish textile design.