Artwork
'Pin-up' wearing a loin cloth and jewellery
'Pin-up' wearing a loin cloth and jewellery is a watercolor work on paper by the Art Brut artist Wilfrid R. Addey. It dates from 1944 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This watercolour by Wilfrid R.
About this work
Overview
She faces to the right, wearing minimal attire consisting of a loin cloth and ornate jewellery featuring gold, green, and red stones.
This watercolour by Wilfrid R. Addey depicts a kneeling pin-up girl, characterized by her slender, elongated body and distinctive facial features, including thin, high eyebrows, long eyelashes, defined lips, and a long face, archetypal of 1940s beauty ideals. She faces to the right, wearing minimal attire consisting of a loin cloth and ornate jewellery featuring gold, green, and red stones. An orchid in her right hand enhances her exotic appearance.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a pin-up girl, embodying the exotic and sensual ideals of the post-war era. The orchid she holds symbolizes luxury and exoticism, while her jewellery and minimal clothing accentuate her allure, reflecting the commercial appeal of pin-up imagery in advertising during this period.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolour, the piece showcases Addey's adaptation of this medium to commercial art. The style is reminiscent of 1940s illustration, with clean lines, defined forms, and a focus on capturing the model's allure, indicative of the period's advertising aesthetics.
History & Provenance
Created in the late 1940s, this work is part of Wilfrid R. Addey's extensive body of commercial art spanning over sixty years. Addey's career included work for prominent London advertising firms such as Dorland Advertising and Mitchells.
Context
This piece is emblematic of the post-war advertising boom, where artists like Addey successfully merged artistic skill with commercial demand. It reflects the era's consumer culture and the role of pin-up girls in promoting products.
Artist & collection
Artist
Wilfrid R. Addey made spare, ink-and-watercolor snapshots of mid-century America. His sheet shows a late-1940s pin-up in a purple bikini with a lit cigarette, quick lines catching the pose and the glow of a club lamp.…
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