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Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Dressing Room No. 1

Print
1923 (made)
Artist/Maker
Knight, Laura (artist)
Place of origin
Britain (made)

Laura Knight made many paintings, drawings and subsequent prints of scenes showing dancers and theatrical subjects, many of them views behind the scenes. This print is based on the painting Prima ballerina and dresser exhibited at the Alpine Club, London, in 1922, but with the composition reversed. The figure in the foreground is Lydia Lopokova (a principal dancer with Diaghilev's 'Ballets Russes'). She is wearing the striped drawers designed by Alexandre Benois as part of the costume for the dancer in Stravinsky's ballet Petruska.The dresser in the background is sewing or perhaps mending the dancer's dress.

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read An introduction to women printmakers, 1900 – Now Women have championed print since its invention, but never more so than in the 20th and 21st centuries. In Part 2 of An introduction to women printmakers, we explore the artists who have embraced new technologies and used print to interrogate a variety of subjects. 

Object details

Categories
Prints
Entertainment & Leisure
Women Artists
Object type
Print
TitleDressing Room No. 1 (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Etching and aquatint, ink on paper
Printing Ink
Paper (Fiber Product)
Etching
Aquatint
Brief description
'Dressing Room No. 1', etching and aquatint by Laura Knight, Britain, 1923
Physical description
View of an interior with a woman in the background, seen in profile, sewing a flounced dress or petticoat. In the foreground is a seated woman, with her head turned towards the woman sewing. She is dressed only in a cap with frilled or lace trim, a bra, striped pantaloons and slippers.
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 15cm
  • Plate width: 20cm
  • Sheet height: 23cm
  • Sheet width: 32.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
On recto: Laura Knight On verso: Drawing room no.1 Aquatint FJH [Watermark]

Note
Signed in pencil
Gallery label
(November 2010)
This print by Laura Knight is based on her painting Prima Ballerina and Dresser. It features Lydia Lopokova, the Ballets Russes principal dancer. In her autobiography Knight said of the picture: 'Everything was glorious to paint; the contrast between the black-clothed dresser and the artificial brilliance … even the old red-plush armchair'. Lopokova wears striped drawers designed by Alexandre Benois for Stravinsky's ballet Petruska.
Credit line
Given by the artist
Subjects depicted
Dressing Rooms
Dancer
Summary
Laura Knight made many paintings, drawings and subsequent prints of scenes showing dancers and theatrical subjects, many of them views behind the scenes. This print is based on the painting Prima ballerina and dresser exhibited at the Alpine Club, London, in 1922, but with the composition reversed. The figure in the foreground is Lydia Lopokova (a principal dancer with Diaghilev's 'Ballets Russes'). She is wearing the striped drawers designed by Alexandre Benois as part of the costume for the dancer in Stravinsky's ballet Petruska.The dresser in the background is sewing or perhaps mending the dancer's dress.
Bibliographic references
  • Wilcox, Timothy. Laura Knight at the Theatre. Paintings and Drawings of the Ballet and the Stage London: Unicorn press, 2008. ISBN: 978 0 906290 91 0.
  • Bolling, G. Frederic. The Graphic Work of Dame Laura Knight: Including a Catalogue Raisonne of her Prints. Aldershot: Scolar Pressm 1993, Cat. 4, p. 32, 102.
  • Knight, Laura. Oil Paint and Grease Paint. London: Ivor Nicholson & Watson, 1936.
  • Knight, Laura. The Magic of a Line. London: William Kimber, 1965.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.4085-1923

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Record createdJuly 24, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O164221/dressing-room-no-1-print-knight-laura/
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