Dress: 1860 1921

Curator: Eric Gill's wood engraving, "Dress: 1860," presents a figure cloaked in a strikingly simple yet elegant garment. Editor: The stark contrast between the black ink and cream paper gives it a weighty, almost somber feel. I'm immediately drawn to the texture implied in the lines of the dress. Curator: The dress itself, a symbol of Victorian womanhood, becomes almost a shroud. Its rigid vertical lines, though suggesting fabric, also hint at confinement. Gill often explored the tension between the spiritual and the sensual. Editor: And you can really see that tension here in the woodcut medium itself. The deliberate, almost laborious carving process contrasts with the flowing lines of the garment, highlighting the constructed nature of both the image and the societal expectations it represents. Curator: It makes you wonder about the wearer, doesn't it? Is this a celebration of fashion, or a commentary on its constraints? Editor: I see both, really. It's a beautiful object made through a rather industrial process, reflecting the complexities of its time.