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Annie French
1879-1965
Winter
20th century
Full sheet: 8 5/16 x 4 7/8 inches (21.1 x 12.4 cm); image: 7 3/16 x 4 1/16 inches (18.3 x 10.3 cm)
Pen and black ink, watercolor and tempera on tracing paper mounted on board.
1981.65:7
Gift of Mr. Frederick R. Koch.
Notes
Watermark: none visible though lining.
French maintained a consistent style throughout her career, making her work difficult to date.
French belonged to a group of influential artists and designers associated with the Glasgow Style (ca. 1895-1920), an Art Nouveau variant that achieved particular renown in Germany and Austria. Its most famous proponents were known as "the Four": Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, Frances MacDonald MacNair, and Herbert MacNair. Women studied side-by-side with men at the Glasgow School of Art, an incubator of the Glasgow Style. A group of these women, French included, is referred to as the Glasgow Girls. They were trained in a range of skills beyond painting and drawing, including embroidery, bookbinding, metalwork, and china and glass painting. French attended the school and became an instructor of ceramic decoration and drawing in 1909. She developed an intricate style consisting of copious lines and dots laid down with fine pens. Her primary subjects were fancifully-dressed women among flowers or woods. This winter scene is one of a number of seasonal illustrations she made during her career.
French maintained a consistent style throughout her career, making her work difficult to date.
French belonged to a group of influential artists and designers associated with the Glasgow Style (ca. 1895-1920), an Art Nouveau variant that achieved particular renown in Germany and Austria. Its most famous proponents were known as "the Four": Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, Frances MacDonald MacNair, and Herbert MacNair. Women studied side-by-side with men at the Glasgow School of Art, an incubator of the Glasgow Style. A group of these women, French included, is referred to as the Glasgow Girls. They were trained in a range of skills beyond painting and drawing, including embroidery, bookbinding, metalwork, and china and glass painting. French attended the school and became an instructor of ceramic decoration and drawing in 1909. She developed an intricate style consisting of copious lines and dots laid down with fine pens. Her primary subjects were fancifully-dressed women among flowers or woods. This winter scene is one of a number of seasonal illustrations she made during her career.
Inscriptions/Markings
Signed within design area at lower right corner, in pen and black ink, "ANNIE FRENCH". Inscribed by the artist on border at upper left, also in pen and black ink, "WINTER"; and on mount, in pencil, "Annie French".
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
Catalog link
Department