Mattiebelle Gittinger
Mattiebelle Gittinger became interested in Southeast Asian art and culture while traveling and living overseas for ten years from 1955 to 1965. During this time, while living in Vietnam and later in Iran, she was inspired by individuals working with local ethnic groups in the mountains. In 1965, Gittinger conducted field research on textiles and house carvings in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, then returned to the United States to study art history at Columbia University in New York (M.A., 1968; Ph.D., 1972), specializing in Indian and Pre-Columbian art. Since the 1970s, she has conducted extensive fieldwork across Southeast Asia, India, Myanmar (Burma), Europe and the Middle East. For more than three decades, Gittinger has been an invaluable resource to The Textile Museum as research associate for Southeast Asian Textiles. She has researched, curated, and organized numerous exhibitions related to Southeast Asian textile traditions. In addition to her work in developing and organizing exhibitions, Gittinger has chaired international conferences on Southeast Asian textile traditions and served in leadership positions within the field. She was one of the founders of the Textile Society of America and served as president of the organization from 1995 to 1996. Gittinger was awarded the George Hewitt Myers Award by The Textile Museum in 2009 in recognition of her contributions to the field of textile arts.