Art Deco Original Watercolor Costume Sketch by Mabel E. Johnston (one of six)

Fine Art : Paintings

 

Submitted for your consideration is a dazzling watercolor of a costume sketch by Mabel E. Johnston from the 1920’s. Mabel Johnson studied art in Philadelphia and in New York and she was considered to be one of the top costume designers of the Broadway Stage during the roaring twenties. Her work was seen in the Ziegfield Follies, Earl Carroll’s Vanities of 1928, Animal Crackers, Cross My Heart, and Hold Everything. We were fortunate to acquire six of her original costume designs from the Park Avenue apartment of an editor of a major fashion magazine and her Broadway composer husband and this is one drawing from that suite.

This is a most amazing piece. The artist created a bull’s-eye that is formed by alternating concentric circles of black and white. At center, lies a red circle that is interrupted by eight sections of black paint, with each section providing a home for a faceless nude figure. This appears to be an aerial viewpoint (or should we say a Balcony view?), and the image of the eight ladies lying down evokes the spectacular displays that were the signature of Busby Berkeley musicals. The women are indecipherable, all painted in flesh tones, all beautifully figured, and all sporting a black cloth that extends past their bodies and appears to be the skimpiest of costumes. The overall impression is surrealistic and in the right hand corner of the work is the simple title “Nudes” written in pencil.

Please recognize that this is not a print. It is a one of a kind pen and ink drawing that the designer has then water colored as a final step before creating the costume. If you look closely you can see the outline of the strokes that formed the initial draft. The piece is signed in the bottom corner of the drawing in ink. Given its age, and the fact that this was a working drawing used to help seamstresses sew together the costume, this work of art is in remarkably good shape. There is some fading of the black paint and the parchment shows its age but this is to be expected from an eighty plus year old image. The watercolor is encased in a custom rich burled walnut wood frame with black lacquered edges and double matted with a black external and red internal matte. The frame shows some slight signs of wear, but this does not detract from the gestalt of the work and it actually enhances the vision of a beautiful vintage piece. This framed work measures 21.5" x 17.5". We have added a photo of an article in the September 1929 issue of Dance Magazine that extols the talents of Ms. Johnston.

All six of the works that we are offering decorated one large wall in the luxurious Manhattan apartment that was their home, but while they would make for a stunning wall grouping, each one can certainly stand on its own as a striking work of art.

Item ID: RL-5066