Lucienne and Robin Day, textile and wallpaper designer, and industrial, interior and furniture designer: papers

Lucienne Day's papers: general correspondence (1976-1999); photographs of textiles, wallpapers, carpets and ceramics (ca.1940-1990); colourways and schemes (ca.1959-1966);silk mosaics, correspondence (1979-1988); designs for silk mosaics (1980-1993); unidentified silk mosaic designs (1980s-1990s); assorted designs from plan chest drawers (1950s - 1960s); designs for West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association (1970); designs for Cavendish textiles (1974-1975); Designs for Heal's (1951-1971); designs for Rosenthal (1964); designs for Wilton Royal carpets (1964); correspondence realating to exhibitions and designs (1960-1999); designs for Thomas Somerset (1954-1969); unidentified designs and fabric samples (undated); magazines and press cuttings (undated); other papers (1970s-1990s). Robin Day's papers: correspondence (1961-1998); Hille International correspondence and press cuttings (1952-1993); material samples (1950s-1999); design project files (ca.1940s-1978); miscellaneous designs, probablyfor display use (1950s-1980s); posters designs (1946-1968); technicaldrawings (1950-1999); design drawings from plan chest drawers (1960-2006); other papers (1940-2001); catalogues, magazines and press cuttings (1960-1997). Lucienne and Robin Day, combined papers: Faculty of the Royal Designers for Industry (RDI), papers (1984-1989); Royal Society of Arts, papers (1981-1990); exhibition papers (1986-1991); John LewisPartnership design papers (1969-1987); other papers (1960-2001).

Lucienne Day (1917 - 2010) attended Croydon School of Art from 1934 to 1937. She then trained at the Royal College of Art but in 1940 her career as a designer was put on hold by the War. Until 1947 she taught part-time at Beckenham School of Art but also exhibited her fabric designs through the Cotton Board. Her first important commission, for Edinburgh Weavers, came in 1948, and from 1950 she designed fabrics for Heal's. Her most notable design, Calyx, was produced by Heal's for her husband Robin's section at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and acheieved international success, winning the 1951 Milan Triennale. Commissions from Sanderson's and Liberty followed, and she continued to design regularly for Heal's and Edinburgh Weavers.

From the late 1950s she designed carpets and table linens in addition to furnishing fabrics and wallpapers. In 1962 she was elected a Royal Desinger for Industry, later serving as Master of the Faculty. In the mid-1970s Lucienne Day gave up commercial design work to concentrate on producing one-off wall hangings, known as silk mosaics, to complement architectural interiors.

Lucienne and Robin Day married in 1942 and undertook joint commissions throughout their careers, notably for BOAC passenger aircarft interiors and for the John Lewis Partnership.

Robin Day (1915 - 2010) attended High Wycombe Art School before studying at the Royal College of Art from 1934 to 1938. The early part of his career was spent in graphic and display design but success came in 1949 when a low cost storage unit designed with Clive Latimer won the International Furniture Design Competition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Robin Day has undertaken design consultancies for the Hille Company since 1949, producing innovative low cost furniture using new techniques and materials such as moulded plywood. After success with the Hillestak and Q Stak chairs, and inspired by the work of Charles Eames, he began experimenting with polypropylene, leading to production of an injection-moulded chair by Hille in 1963.

Robin Day continued to design furniture, notably for Pye in 1958, Gatwick Airport in 1960 and Mines and West in 1989. He designed the British displays at the Milan Triennale (1951) and undertook seating projects for the Royal Festival Hall (1951) and the Barbican Centre (1980). Robin Day was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 1959 and an OBE in 1983.

Lucienne and Robin Day married in 1942 and undertook joint commissions throughout their careers, notably for BOAC passenger aircarft interiors and for the John Lewis Partnership.

This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Study Rooms by appointment only. Full details of access arrangements may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.

Access to some of these materials may be restricted. These are noted in the catalogue where relevant.

Gift of Lucienne and Robin Day, 2000, Lucienne Day 2009 and Paula Day, 2011.