Ball Dress c. 1936

Nancy Crimi created this ‘Ball Dress’ drawing with graphite and watercolor, and it presents a delicate study in form and texture. The light washes of color and the detailed linework invite us to consider the relationship between representation and materiality. The dress, with its floral patterns, suggests a certain historical period, yet the incomplete rendering and the presence of a sketched, less-detailed version beside it complicates any straightforward reading. Crimi's careful attention to the dress’s structure contrasts with the more ephemeral qualities of watercolor. Notice the precision with which she depicts the dress's shape and ornamentation. Ultimately, this artwork destabilizes conventional understandings of dress as mere objects of fashion. Instead, it functions as a site of interplay between artistic form, historical evocation, and the very act of seeing. The tension between the dress’s apparent elegance and the drawing’s quiet introspection leaves us contemplating the layers of meaning embedded within this rendering.