Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a paint painting by the Contemporary Realist artist Richard Rockwood. It dates from 1975 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This painting shows a woman in a flowing white dress, standing in a sunlit room. Her pose is relaxed, one hand on her hip. The background is soft and airy, like a dream.
It’s actually the album cover for Linda Lewis’s 1975 LP Not a Little Girl Anymore. Rockwood used an airbrush, a tool that sprays paint in smooth layers.
Look for more of Rockwood’s work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
This airbrushed painting by Richard Rockwood served as the cover image for Linda Lewis’s 1975 album Not a Little Girl Anymore. The work depicts a woman in a white, flowing dress standing in a sun‑lit interior, her posture relaxed with a hand placed on her hip. The background is rendered in soft, diffused tones that give the scene an ethereal, dream‑like quality.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a young woman in a light dress, conveys a sense of openness and transition, echoing the album’s title and themes of moving beyond childhood. The luminous setting and gentle pose suggest a moment of quiet confidence, aligning with Lewis’s blend of folk, soul, and pop sensibilities during the mid‑1970s.
Technique & Style
Rockwood employed an airbrush to apply paint in seamless, layered washes, creating a smooth, almost photographic finish. This method allows for subtle gradations of light and shadow, producing the airy atmosphere and the delicate rendering of fabric and skin that characterize the composition.
History & Provenance
Created specifically for the Not a Little Girl Anymore record, the painting was reproduced as the album’s front cover in 1975. The original work remains in private hands, while reproductions continue to appear in retrospectives of 1970s album art and in exhibitions of Rockwood’s broader oeuvre, some of which are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Context
During the early 1970s, Linda Lewis lived in a communal setting frequented by prominent musicians such as Cat Stevens, Marc Bolan, and Elton John, a milieu that informed her eclectic musical style. The album’s release coincided with a period when rock and soul artists increasingly embraced visual experimentation, making the airbrushed cover a notable example of that trend.
Artist & collection
Artist
Richard Rockwood kept a jar of turpentine on his kitchen windowsill and painted on rainy afternoons when the light stayed soft and slow.
