Dress c. 1936

Melita Hofmann made this watercolor, ink, and graphite drawing of a dress, but we don’t know when exactly. The dress takes center stage, like a diva ready to make an entrance. Hofmann’s strokes are delicate, almost like she’s sketching a fleeting thought. I can see her, head tilted, hovering over the page, coaxing the dress into being. The layers of color create depth, like memories stacked on top of each other. The black roses seem to leap off the material! I want to know what party she was designing this dress for, or perhaps she was just imagining the possibilities of fabric and form. There’s something so intimate about seeing a sketch like this. It’s like catching the artist in a moment of pure creativity, before the world had a chance to weigh in. Hofmann’s dress reminds me of the fluid lines in Sonia Delaunay’s textile designs and the color sensibility of Vanessa Bell. This piece makes me think of how artists inspire each other across time. It’s not just about the finished product, it’s about the conversation.