Silk Gown 1936

Maude Schell, who lived between 1935 and 1942, made this drawing, Silk Gown, with what looks like watercolor and graphite, although I’d love to see the real thing in person. The pink is so delicate it’s like a whisper of color, a sort of promise of pink. What strikes me is the difference in the way the fabric of the gown is rendered versus the lace at the bottom. I’m really drawn to the front panel, that’s not pink, it’s off-white, and has a totally different texture to the rest of the gown. This is where Schell’s hand really shows, it's like a tiny, repetitive dance of the pencil. There's something so earnest and innocent in Schell's approach to this. Maybe I'm reminded of other dress drawings like those of Charles James, who pushed the boundaries of design with his sculptural dresses. Schell's gown, however, has a gentle charm, a quiet conversation between color and form, line and shape. Ultimately it speaks to the way we dream and imagine.