Category: 1900-1909
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1905 – André Derain, Lucien Gilbert
André Derain painted his old friend Lucien Gilbert in the wild, eccentric colors and style of Fauvism. The colors may be unconventional; the sitter is not. Derain presents Gilbert, a future architect, as a proper young professional: stylish but conservative.
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Inès Gâches-Sarraute and the Straight-Front Corset
Often anachronistically called the ‘S-bend,’ the dramatic straight-front corset of the early 1900s was invented by a doctor for health purposes and quickly swept up into the tides of fashion.
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1906 – John White Alexander, Study in Black and Green
Alexander replicated this same evening gown in paintings over a six-year period as it slowly progressed from fashionable to outdated.
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1904 – John Singer Sargent, Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D’Abernon
Two decades after premiering his most scandalous painting, Madame X, John Singer Sargent unveiled a portrait of another woman known for her unworldly beauty and charm – Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D’Abernon.
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1898-1901 – Green silk embroidered tea gown
This late 19th-century embroidered tea gown combines design features of several artistic movements of the time, including historicism, Japonisme, and Art Nouveau.
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Hymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes, a ground-breaking dance company at the beginning of the 20th century, took inspiration from ancient art and sculpture from Greece, Rome, and Egypt to create costumes, poses, and set designs as “Hymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes” explores.
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Compartment Couture: New York City Department Stores 1850-1930 (Part 2)
Part 1 of this essay covers the emergence of department stores in New York City during the nineteenth century. Part 2 discusses the roles of salesclerks and anonymous fashion designers who worked for department store labels.
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1941 – Wyler, The Little Foxes
This film adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s play involves the corrupt dealings of a wealthy Southern family at the turn of the 20th century. The vicious Regina Giddens and her two greedy brothers scheme mercilessly in their attempt to make a fortune on a new cotton mill.
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