Quaker Costume Doll 1935 - 1942

Charlotte Angus made this watercolour painting of a Quaker Costume Doll sometime in the twentieth century. I love the way she’s used the medium, really letting the washes of brown and grey flow into each other, so the dark dress becomes this voluminous, almost abstract shape. I imagine Angus carefully building up the layers, starting with light washes and then adding darker tones to define the folds and shadows of the fabric. It’s like she’s feeling her way through the form, letting the paint guide her. I bet she was fascinated by how the light catches the fabric, creating these subtle shifts in tone, from a deep, rich brown to a softer, lighter grey. For me, it speaks to the long tradition of artists finding beauty and meaning in the everyday, the overlooked. And it reminds us that even something as simple as a doll's dress can be a site of artistic exploration and expression.