Seated woman

Barbara BRASH
Australian 1925–1998

Seated woman c. 1955      
colour lithograph; edition of 20       
Geelong Gallery
Gift of Moira Eckel through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2017
© the estate of the artist

In 1950 Brash travelled to Europe with friend and fellow artist Dorothy Braund. ‘Once overseas, her passion was to see all the Masaccio’ Braund has recalled, highlighting Brash’s special interest in the pioneering work of the early Renaissance painter: ‘[s]he was vitally interested in the relationship of figures to space, subordinating the clothing of figures to a sweeping rhythm of drapery to flow within the constructed cores of the composition.’

Here we see this source of inspiration in full effect, as  Brash extends the rippled edge of the woman’s dress over the chair’s armrest and floats the floral fabric print into the space over her right shoulder. The tilt of her hips is complemented by the crook of the potted plant leaves, with the intersecting linework of the planter, footrest and crossed legs indicative of Brash’s skill in drafting and placement.

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Read by a voluntary Geelong Gallery Guide