SOLD

Crysedé Jacket
1925

Cornish Farm was probably among the earliest of a series of designs based on Alec Walker's landscape sketches and paintings. This design was exhibited at the Independent Gallery, Grafton St, London in 1925. A reviewer of the exhibition wrote A Cornish Farm has chimney pots and latticed windows behind which one knows they are eating sloe jam and cream.

 

 

 

Description

A Cornish Farm designed by Alec Walker hand block printed in blue, green and ochre on a natural coloured linen ground, round neck with 1 in collar, overlapping fastening with a button and buttonhole and press studs, lined with another Crysede design with a peach, blue and green design on natural cotton ground, and another flowery fabric at the back, long sleeves, pattern repeat 16 in or 40 cm.; length 19 1/2 in or 50 cm, Size 8-10 UK; 6-8 USA.

Condition

Excellent

Comments

The design was illustrated in Frank Rutter's article on Alec Walker, Studio magazine, 1928 (vol 85).

Art Deco Textiles. Samuels, Charlotte p 128, Plate 104. The V & As piece is on silk.

Penlee Museum PEZPH 1999.10 for similar design but made into a linen dress.

Crysede Berriman, Hazel

See: My ARTICLE on Crysede.

• See: Crysede by Hazel Berriman plate 4, p 52 and p 33 where she states: Cornish Farm was one of the earliest designs based on Walker's landscape sketches and paintings. The original drawing does not survive but in a sketchbook c 1925/7 there are a number of small, well-realised pencil and water-colour drawings of farms and out-buildings, cottages and rural views, which suggest the type of image which provided the source for these ideas. They are characterised by naive drawing and an aerial perspective which seems to anticipate their translation into two-dimensional design. It is not known if this childlike design was deliberate. Walker had no academic art training but studied contemporary painting and the Fauvre painters, particularly Dufy.