Details
The image
A figure in a coat shown from the side, the garment drawn as a single shape with a belt and a hat, the background reduced to a band of colour. The lettering is set in a light serif above and below and the sheet is cropped close to the body.
Where it comes from
Fashion and department-store advertising of the mid-century sold the idea of a woman in a city rather than a garment on a hanger: the coat, the street, the hour. Designers used the illustrated figure because a drawn silhouette could show the cut of a shoulder better than a photograph and because a drawing did not have to be a specific person.
On the wall
It suits a bedroom, a dressing room or a hallway, where a single figure with movement can hold a wall. Because the palette is light and the composition narrow, it makes a small room feel taller. In a group it should be the piece that introduces colour.
In company
Hung as a pair with something from the Vintage collection, it gains rather than loses.In a group it should sit beside something quieter, the figure needs a plain surface to move against.
