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Lot Essay
The study of a lady in a hat adorned with blue feathers and a pink rose is possibly for the principal figure in the fresco entitled 'Corporation Street, Birmingham, in March 1914' that Southall painted on the staircase of the Birmingham Art Gallery (introduction, fig. 1). It was unveiled on 7 June 1916 and is still in situ. It is true that the details of the hat are different from those which appear in the painting, but it is not impossible that Southall changed his mind. An earlier (1912) fresco entitled 'In the Rue de Rivoli' (illustrated in the catalogue of the 1980 exhibition, p. 91) shows a similarly-posed figure wearing a different style of hat. Although his work was so rooted in the example of the old masters, Southall was keenly aware of modern fashion.
The model for the central figure in the Birmingham Art Gallery fresco has been identfied both as Georgie Gaskin, the wife of Southall's close friend and fellow artist Arthur Gaskin, and as Mrs William Smedley-Aston (see lot 214).
For other studies for the fresco, see lot 213.
The model for the central figure in the Birmingham Art Gallery fresco has been identfied both as Georgie Gaskin, the wife of Southall's close friend and fellow artist Arthur Gaskin, and as Mrs William Smedley-Aston (see lot 214).
For other studies for the fresco, see lot 213.