Child's Coat c. 1937

This watercolor and graphite drawing depicts a child’s coat, made at an unknown date by Lucien Verbeke. The garment's creation would have involved the sourcing of materials like wool for the striped fabric and velvet for the trim, likely bought from a haberdashery. Consider the labor required for the coat's construction: the spinning of yarn, weaving of cloth, and sewing of the garment itself. Each stage, whether done at home or in a workshop, represents countless hours of skilled work. The coat’s design, with its careful arrangement of stripes and contrasting velvet, suggests a desire for both practicality and adornment. Garments like these were not merely functional; they were also expressions of identity, status, and the values of a rapidly industrializing society. By attending to the materials, making processes, and social context, we can appreciate how this seemingly simple object embodies complex histories of labor, consumption, and creative expression, bridging the divide between craft and art.