Object Timeline

1955

  • Work on this object began.

2016

  • We acquired this object.

2017

2025

  • You found it!

Textile, Top-O-World

This is a Textile. It was designed by Emma Yarlekovic and produced by Associated American Artists. It is dated 1955 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is cotton and its technique is printed. It is a part of the Textiles department.

Emma Yarlekovic’s Top-O-World is a fanciful depiction of the North Pole, reimagined to include penguins and skiers in addition to the expected reindeer-drawn sleighs. Its surprising palette includes blues, pink, purple, and white on a chartreuse ground. Blue dots in the background suggest snowfall, while curvilinear lines represent sloping grounds. Some details appear in shimmering gold; this is one of the only Associated American Artists textiles to incorporate a metallic.

This object was donated by American Textile History Museum. It is credited American Textile History Museum Collection, gift of Pheobe V. Cofer.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 88.9 × 102 cm (35 in. × 40 3/16 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile, Top-O-World; Designed by Emma Yarlekovic (American, b. 1924); Produced by Associated American Artists (United States); cotton; H x W: 88.9 × 102 cm (35 in. × 40 3/16 in.); American Textile History Museum Collection, gift of Pheobe V. Cofer; 2016-35-61

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1108711659/ |title=Textile, Top-O-World |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=22 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>