Woman's Dress 1935 - 1942

Curator: Here we have Julie C. Brush’s "Woman's Dress," created sometime between 1935 and 1942, a lovely coloured pencil and watercolour drawing on paper. Editor: Mmm, it's so poised, almost floating there. Makes me think of old portraits, those grand gowns frozen in time. Curator: Indeed, it adheres to the genre-painting tradition with a strong emphasis on historical fashion. Consider the structure. The pronounced verticality achieved via the stripes contrasts exquisitely with the swelling volume of the skirt, culminating in a rigid geometry near the collar. Editor: True, the eye definitely travels upwards, anchored by those stripes, then released by the balloon sleeves. There’s something haunting about a dress without a person inside, like a forgotten story. I wonder who wore this? Curator: From a formalist perspective, the “who” is secondary. Notice the restricted palette, the beige suffused throughout, allowing the intricate pattern work to become primary. Editor: I get it. But it's hard not to imagine a figure—someone laced in there, perhaps dancing? Those sleeves give such movement! Is it just me, or are they like melancholy rain clouds over that skirt? Curator: A valid interpretation. The ballooned sleeves and the slight drooping effect create an implied heaviness that plays with our expectation of fashionable portraiture. Editor: Yeah, it's fashion but kind of undone somehow. It is interesting the artwork doesn’t present the entire composition or body for that matter. Curator: Note also the precision in the linework contrasted to the more diffused wash of color – an intriguing duality in Brush's application of the media. It simultaneously renders and obscures. Editor: Exactly. The colors feel like they’ve aged on the page and, maybe the intended wearer also suffered from aging. What a fleeting piece. Curator: The semiotics here, when closely considered, provides the viewer with a far greater meaning about women in this time period. Editor: This has opened a little window of thought. Curator: Indeed. It demonstrates how attention to formal aspects can elicit an emotive connection to a piece such as "Woman's Dress".