Toy design - Shawl Dance

Maker

Attributed to
(artist)
1891-1981

Title

Date of Production

1914 - 1916

Medium

graphite, watercolour and bodycolour on wove paper; the shawl cut out along the contours and attached over the figure on a separate piece of paper

Dimensions

Height: 27.6 cm
Width: 24.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1958.PD.38

Mode of Acquisition

Pamela Diamand, gift, 1958

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Gill's experiments with dancing toys was an expression of the Omega's fascination with themes of dance in its decorative schemes. The shawl dance in this drawing might be related to the performances of Loie Fuller, one of the most admired dancers of the age. Fuller was famed for dancing in large silk shawls, which dramatised the movements of her body. The swathes of red material that engulf a similarly red figure are a striking feature of this design.

Provenance

Roger Fry (1866-1934); by descent to his daughter Pamela Diamand; Pamela Diamand Gift 1958

Exhibition History

Special Display - Works by Winifred Gill, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 22/05/2009-29/09/2009

Roger Fry and the Omega Workshops, The Courtauld Gallery (Prints and Drawings Study Room), 01/08/1990-02/12/1990

El Grup de Bloomsbury, Sala d'Exposicions de la Caixa, Barcelona, 01/09/1986-01/10/1986 ...More

The Omega Workshops 1913 to 1919, Crafts Council Gallery, London, 18/01/1984-18/03/1984 ...Less

Literature

The Omega Workshops 1913 to 1919, Crafts Council Gallery, London, 1984
cat. no. D43

El Grup de Bloomsbury, Sala d'Exposicions de la Caixa, Barcelona, Spain, 1986
cat. no. 60

Art Made Modern - Roger Fry's Vision of Art, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1999-2000
cat. no. 201
p. 193 ...More

Beyond Bloomsbury - Designs of the Omega Workshops 1913-19, Courtauld Gallery, London, 2009
Appendix, no. 47
ill. on p. 174
dated 1914-16 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: centre: large but illegible due to shawl and support blocking any view.

Inscription: Recto: lower right, orange watercolour, titled: “Shawl Dance”. Verso: lower left, blue ink: “HHF. 263.” and added after in graphite: “/38”.

Collector's mark: none.

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