Quaker Costume Doll 1935 - 1942

Charlotte Angus made this Quaker Costume Doll, we don’t know when, in watercolor. Look at how the watercolor is layered, how each brushstroke seems to build upon the last, a kind of slow, quiet accumulation of detail. The color palette is so restrained, mostly browns and grays, but it's not drab, is it? The texture of the paper itself seems to come through, lending a certain softness to the whole image. I keep coming back to the dress, all those folds and drapes rendered with such delicate precision. You can almost feel the weight of the fabric, and it really brings the figure to life. You know, it reminds me a little bit of some of the costume studies made by designers for the Ballet Russes, that same attention to detail, but with a completely different sensibility. It's like two parallel conversations happening across time, through the language of art. Ultimately, it’s an invitation to slow down, to observe, and to find beauty in the unexpected.