Gray M.C.A

When fashion is observed through the eyes of the masters of fashion illustration there is an unbreakable thread that transcends period, trend and style. These masters communicate in an artistic language that is unparalleled in its draftsmanship and one that guarantees to captivate with élan.

Highlights of Drawing on Style include the work of grand master Carl Erickson (1891 – 1958) who initiated a new approach to documenting fashion in the early 1920s and who, by the 1930s and 40s, was the pre-eminent master in the golden age of fashion illustration. The French master Pierre Mourgue (1890 – 1969), invited by Condé Nast to take French illustrative elegance to America for the first time with his undeniable Parisian flair, René Gruau (1909 – 2004) whose divine line was celebrated particularly through his long association with the House of Dior and the great Antonio (1942 – 1987) who captured the vibrance of the New York fashion scene in a daring new style. All were visionaries and now recognised historically as amongst the most important of the 20^th century.

In the later half of the 20th century there is the magnificent work of Steven Stipelman (1944 – ), an outstandingly talented fashion artist who worked predominantly for WWD and W Magazine and the work of Gladys Perint Palmer (1947 – ) who dominated the fashion pages internationally from the 1980s to the 2000’s. Today’s highlights include the contemporary British master David Downton (1959 – ) who unreservedly carries the golden age of fashion illustration into the 21st century with a sophisticated sweeping style and the strength of line evident in the enchanting works of contemporary Italian fashion and lifestyle artist Andrea Ferolla (1961 – ), the evocative, atmospheric work of Bil Donovan (1953 – ) Artist-in-Residence for Dior, and the remarkable imagery created by Jason Brooks (1969 – ).