Portrait of a woman
Maker
(artist)
1885-1963
1885-1963
Title
Portrait of a woman
Date of Production
(circa) 1913
Medium
graphite and watercolour on wove paper, with pinholes at each corner and the lower centre edge
Dimensions
Height: 35.2 cm
Width: 27.1 cm
Width: 27.1 cm
Accession Number
D.2016.XX.9
Mode of Acquisition
Brigid Peppin, gift, 2016
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
© Estate of Helen Saunders
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
Saunders’s portrait of her friend Blanche Caudwell (1880-1950) captures the sitter’s distinctive features, yet strips away detail in favour of stark stylisation. Although likely a study, the handling is confident. Broad strokes of wash model the face; those areas left bare appear flooded with light.
Saunders’s work had been described as ‘Cubist’ in 1913. The way she breaks Blanche’s face into discrete planes, testing the boundaries between two- and three-dimensionality, reveals the artist’s familiarity with Cubism, a key influence on Vorticism.
Saunders’s work had been described as ‘Cubist’ in 1913. The way she breaks Blanche’s face into discrete planes, testing the boundaries between two- and three-dimensionality, reveals the artist’s familiarity with Cubism, a key influence on Vorticism.
Provenance
with the artist until her death in 1963; bequeathed to her sister, Ethel Saunders; bequeathed to her first cousin once removed, Helen Peppin, 1971; given to her daughter, Brigid Peppin, 1989; offered by her as a gift and part-purchase to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2016
Exhibition History
Praxitella: Wyndham Lewis, Helen Saunders and Iris Barry, Leeds Art Gallery, 22/06/2023-05/11/2023
Drawings Gallery Display - Helen Saunders, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/10/2022-29/01/2023
Drawings Gallery Display - Helen Saunders, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 14/10/2022-29/01/2023
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Inscription: none.
Collector's mark: none.
Inscription: none.
Collector's mark: none.
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