Fashionable Art
The Frances Neady Collection of Original Fashion Illustrations
The Frances Neady collection of Original Fashion Illustrations was established in 1984 to honor its namesake, an inspirational teacher of fashion illustration. The collection encompasses over a century of fashion art. Its earliest example, a watercolor by Pierre Brissaud for Gazette du Bon Ton, is dated 1913; its most recent donation is by contemporary artist Ruben Toledo. Among other stars represented in the collection are Eric (Carl Erickson), René Bouché, Dorothy Hood, George Stavrinos, and Antonio (Lopez).
To mark the collection’s 30th anniversary, Neady collection founder, Rosemary Torre, in collaboration with noted illustrator Bil Donovan, selected the thirty works to display in an exhibit entitled "Fashionable Art: The Frances Neady collection of Original Fashion Illustrations." The exhibit was on display in FIT's Gladys Marcus Library from October 21, 2014 to January 23, 2015.
Donations to the collection come from artists, collectors, and industry professionals. The donated works fulfill criteria established by the Neady Collection Advisory Board, which acknowledges artists who exhibit high standards of draftsmanship and esthetic quality, demonstrate an individual approach, possess technical virtuosity, have worked for high-end magazines, stores or corporations, and have earned the admiration of their peers.
The Frances Neady collection’s mission is to encourage and facilitate research by students and industry professionals in the art of fashion illustration. The collection presents a graphic record of the art’s evolution since the 1910s. In addition, it provides a vivid cultural and visual reflection of its time.
Rosemary Torre
Founder, Frances Neady Collection
Eric
Born in Joliet, Illinois, Carl Erickson (1891-1958) signed his drawings “Eric.” He married Lee Creelman, a staff illustrator at Vogue, eventually far surpassing her reputation. When the Society of Illustrators inducted him into its Hall of Fame, their citation read in part, “the famous designers, Mainbocher, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Dior and Yves St. Laurent vied to have Eric draw their fashions. He recorded them with keen observation of essential detail and with distinction, style and grace. He portrayed the great and the near great of the period – Gertrude Stein, Colette, Edith Piaf, Toscanini and Franklin Roosevelt. He drew them all with a discerning eye, recognizing the revealing features that denoted their character.”
Esta
If the women depicted by fashion illustrators in the 1930s and ’40s were busy at sports or patriotic duties, those in the 1950s seemed to be doing nothing at all. They existed in undefined space. In this decade, certain illustrators like Esta Nesbitt (1918-1975) became adept at drawing, and forever associated with, the junior figure. Esta, as she was known, drew a young lady with a cinched waist above a billowing skirt, hugging herself in delight. Esta’s juniors were always slightly sassy, which endeared them to young readers.
Alvin Pimsler
In 1941, Alvin Pimsler was an illustrator just out of Pratt Institute when he was drafted into the army. He was captured in Alsace-Lorraine by the Nazis and served as a Prisoner of War. He returned to have a brilliant career as an illustrator for publications including The New Yorker and the Fashions of The New York Times. He became the president of the Society of Illustrators and taught at FIT. Recognized for his classic “mad men,” he perhaps found inspiration close to home. In 1975, The New York Times made him the subject of a profile in style, noting, “[Pimsler] is best known as a fashion illustrator; his relaxed-style drawings suggest, in fact, the artist himself.”
René Bouché
René Bouché (1905-1963) used his brush in a freer and more experimental way than other illustrators of the time. Note, for example, the softness of the line denoting the model’s pocket. He made his reputation at American Vogue, beginning in 1939. In Fashion Drawing in Vogue, William Packer writes, “By the war’s end his mature style had declared itself, and he was confirmed in the romantic Expressionism, relaxed, disarmingly decorative and throwaway, that was to see him through.”
Dorothy Hood
Known for her full-page ads for Lord & Taylor from the 1930s to the ‘60s, Dorothy Hood (1905- 1970) was a master at suggesting textures—satin, fur, velvet, leather, sparkling jewelry—that printers worked hard to reproduce in magazines and newspapers. Her tools were a tube of black watercolor and India Ink. Her line was fluid and her wash technique seemingly effortless. The head illustrator for Lord & Taylor, she established the iconic sketching style for the store’s advertisements. In her obituary, The New York Times described her influence: “The Hood girl became, for a time, almost as talked-about a style as the Gibson Girl.”
Antonio
In 1962, when Antonio Lopez (1943-1987), known as “Antonio,” left FIT for a full-time job at Women’s Wear Daily, illustration was already steadily losing ground to photography in fashion editorial. Over the course of his career, however, working with his art director (and fellow FIT grad) Juan Ramos, Antonio staked out new territory. Typical illustrations of the time featured staid white women in stiff, artificial poses. Antonio incorporated people of color, contemporary social issues, overt sexuality, and references to modern art. His style was so protean that he was sometimes called “the Picasso of fashion illustration.”
George Stavrinos
George Stavrinos (1948-1990) often used trompe l’oeil to capture the viewer’s eye. The globalization of fashion is just one of the messages in the Japanese-inspired illustration for Bergdorf Goodman. He uses the obi-styled sash and the origami-cut pants as points of departure for a lavish presentation.
Frances Neady
Not much is known about Frances Neady—Neady, as her students called her. She rarely spoke about herself. Fred Bennett (d. 2003), co-founder of the Frances Neady Collection and friend, helped assemble this short biography. She was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Her father owned a coal mine and lead crystal factory. After a brief marriage, she moved to New York City to attempt a career in fashion. Supporting herself with modelling for coat manufacturers, she enrolled at Parsons to study fashion illustration. She impressed the director of the Illustration Department, and was offered a position as assistant instructor.
Neady herself was an imposing figure: tall and big-boned, with thick red-brown hair. She wore what became a uniform—a black or charcoal grey slim skirt, a long-sleeved black top, and medium-heeled black pumps, which she changed for worn slippers as soon as she entered the classroom. She spoke in a slow drawl, and smoked Camels whenever class breaks allowed. At the annual Parsons Costume party, she inevitably arrived in kimono and a Japanese wig, dressed as “Mother” Gin Sling from the play The Shanghai Gesture. Neady students considered themselves beneficiaries of her unfailing eye, her insistence on quality, and her respect for hard work. An understated sign of her approval (“That’s good,” or “That’s better”) could make one’s day.
Neady’s teaching of the fashion figure was based on a sound knowledge of human anatomy and on observing how clothes are affected by the movement of the body underneath. Her method involved an organic progression from MOVEMENT, with emphasis on rapid gestural drawings of a skimpily clad model (every drawing class began with a half hour of “gesture drawings”); going on to MASS: the gradual defining of torso, arms and legs as tubular forms; to DETAIL: enveloping the figure in a particular garment, and giving it a “personality”; to the FINAL: the “finished” drawing. Students were expected to think of themselves as professionals.
Her mantra was “look at THE BEST.” For her, the best were the old masters, and homework assignments often included copying Pontormo, Watteau, Degas, and Ingres. Looking at the best included dressing up and having afternoon tea at the Plaza’s Palm Court to observe the fashionable elite in their couture outfits. Looking at the best meant window-shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues. Looking at the best meant haunting museums and galleries and carrying a sketchbook at all times to record THE BEST.
The Illustrations
The works displayed in this exhibit were originally created for magazines, newspapers, department stores, and individual designers. The illustrator’s role was to advertise the garment, imbuing it with a sense of glamour and fantasy. They expertly conveyed the way clothes moved on the body via their keen understanding of anatomy. Top fashion illustrators—and the Neady collection includes some of the best of the 20th century—have a distinctive line, a “flair.”
Tod Draz rendered poised American types for Saks. Barbara Fox worked for the store B. Altman and was known for her sensitive pencil technique. Pedro Barrios, working in a more decadent style—think of English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley—drew for Women’s Wear Daily. Ruben Toledo’s whimsical, stylized work has graced numerous campaigns for Barneys.
In each case, what they captured was not just the shearling coat, the plaid separates, or the spiked heels, but the spirit of the time—a certain élan. That elusive quality has roots in the fashionable figure, as Frances Neady herself could tell you. “She had a clear picture of the fashionable figure,” explains Rosemary Torre, a former Neady student and organizer of this show. Neady knew the woman of the 1950s best, Torre says: “Your stomach was tucked in. Your butt was tucked in. You had sloping shoulders. You had small bones, which made you look tall.”
In the century it spans, the Neady Collection charts the dwindling number of fashion illustrators as photography became increasingly dominant. However, fashion illustration may find its place again. In 2012, noted illustrator and FIT faculty member Bil Donovan was hired to render Fashion Week in brush and ink for the pages of New York magazine. He asked the editor why they wanted drawings: “Anyone can pull out a cell phone and shoot a photo now,” the editor replied. “This is unique.”
The Collection
On February 6, 1984, an exhibition of 45 superb fashion drawings opened in the lobby of the Shirley Goodman Resource Center at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The show included works by storied illustrators Antonio (Lopez), Eric (Carl Ericson), and Esther Larson. An exciting mix of illustrators, art directors, collectors, and members of the College community attended the champagne reception. It was an auspicious inauguration of the Frances Neady Collection of original fashion illustrations.
Housed in the FIT Library’s unit of Special Collections, the collection was established in honor of an inspirational fashion illustration teacher who served on the faculties of Parsons School of Design and FIT for a total of 50 years before retiring in 1978. Soon after her death in 1982, two FIT faculty members and erstwhile Neady students, Rosemary Torre and Frederick Bennett, began working to create a permanent testimonial in her memory. This collection of twentieth-century fashion illustrations would be properly stored and maintained, and made available for students, faculty, and independent researchers to study.
Bennett and Torre chaired a committee that included noted illustrators (and FIT faculty) Alvin Pimsler, Morton Kaish, and Richard Ely as well as Richard Martin, a celebrated fashion scholar who curated exhibitions at what became The Museum at FIT and was later curator of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The committee determined criteria for accessioning work. They looked for illustrators who set high standards of draftsmanship and esthetic quality; demonstrated originality and technical virtuosity; worked for topflight stores, magazines and corporations; and earned the admiration of their peers.
Over the years, top illustrators and important donors contributed pieces. Esther Larson worked from the 1930s to 1995 for high-end stores including Lord and Taylor, Jacobson's, and Montaldo's as well as for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. George Stavrinos created an unmistakable identity for Bergdorf Goodman. Harvey Boyd, FIT faculty member, was an artist for Vogue. Bob and Bertha Hermann filled Lord & Taylor ads with Cary-Grant- like figures. Kermit Adler, former Art Director at Lord & Taylor, donated drawings by Dorothy Hood, Fred Greenhill and Carl Wilson. Among the accessioned works are a rare nude by René Bouché and a series by Antonio that demonstrates the process by which an illustration is created.
In 1999, New York’s Society of Illustrators mounted an exhibition of highlights from the Neady collection, and The Museum at FIT included selections in its 2004 show The Artful Line. The Brandywine River Museum and what is now the New Britain Museum of American Art have also exhibited works, and Neady illustrations have appeared in important publications on fashion art: Illustrating Fashion, by noted illustrator Eunice Sloane; Fashion Illustration in New York, edited by Peter Sato; Antonio’s Girls; and 20th Century Fashion Illustration: The Feminine Ideal, by Rosemary Torre.
Today, the nucleus of 45 high-quality illustrations has grown to more than 300, and it continues to expand. Much of the collection has been digitized and is accessible on the Library website, and individuals can make an appointment through Special Collections to view the original pieces. The Frances Neady Collection continues to evolve, delight and, most appropriately, to instruct while offering a valuable overview of a specialized art field.
Please see this collection's Finding Aid for more information.
Checklist
The following list details all of the art works that were included in the 2014 exhibit in FIT's Gladys Marcus Library.
FRAMED ILLUSTRATIONS
PIERRE BRISSAUD, 1913
Original watercolor for Gazette du Bon Ton
Donor: Robert Knox
TOD DRAZ, ca. 1950s
Charcoal, pastel and gouache
Franklin Simon
Donor: Frank and Marie Paulin
DUNCAN, ca. 1920s
Pen and wash
Gift
DONALD EARLEY, 1994
Marker
Donor: Artist (FIT alumnus)
ERIC (CARL ERICKSON), 1942
Watercolor
Vogue Magazine
Gift
IZAK (ZENOU), 2003
Watercolor
Henri Bendel
Donor: Artist
ESTHER LARSON, ca. 1980s
Marker, wash and gouache
Geoffrey Beene suit for Jacobson’s
Donor: Artist
FRANCES NEADY, early 1960s
Brush and wash
Classroom demonstration
Donor: Fred Bennett
KICHISABURO OGAWA, ca. 1980s
Marker and collage
Women’s Wear Daily
Donor: Artist (FIT alumnus)
GLENN TUNSTULL, 2004
Charcoal, wash and gouache
Fashion Week, Javits Center
Donor: Artist
BARBARA PEARLMAN, ca. 1990s
Charcoal and watercolor
Donor: Artist (FIT faculty)
BIL DONOVAN, 2014
Ink wash
Donor: Artist (FIT alumnus and faculty)
MATTED ILLUSTRATIONS
ANTONIO (LOPEZ), ca. 1980s
Marker and ink
Bloomingdale’s
Donor: Juan Ramos
PEDRO BARRIOS, ca. 1980s
Marker and black gouache
Women’s Wear Daily
Donor: Artist
KENNETH PAUL BLOCK, 1985
Marker and charcoal
Anglo Fabrics
Donor: Anglo Fabrics
RENÉ BOUCHÉ, ca. 1960s
Charcoal and watercolor
Vogue Magazine
Donor: Marcus Weisman
HARVEY BOYD, 1978
Marker and pastel
Vogue Magazine
Donor: Artist (FIT faculty)
JAY HYDE CRAWFORD, ca. 1980s
Charcoal
Bonwit Teller
Donor: Artist
DORA (MATHIEU), ca.1960s
Brush and wash
Donor: Jenny Greenfield, daughter
RICHARD ELY, ca. 1990s
Brush and gouache
Saks Fifth Avenue
Donor: Artist (FIT faculty)
ESTA (NESBITT), ca. 1950s
Charcoal
Donor: Saul Nesbitt, husband
BARBARA FOX, ca. 1970s
Graphite
Abercrombie and Fitch
Donor: Artist
ROBERT AND BERTHA HERRMANN, ca. 1980s
Monochrome wash
Lord & Taylor
Donor: Artists
DOROTHY HOOD, ca. 1970s
Monochrome wash
Yves Saint Laurent dresses for Lord & Taylor
Donor: Kermit Adler
JIM HOWARD, ca. 1980s
Charcoal, wash and pastel
Donor: Artist
MORTON KAISH, ca. 1980s
Charcoal and wash
Donor: Artist (FIT faculty)
MATS (GUSTAFSON), 2003
Watercolor
Valentino’s Red Book
Donor: Artist
ALVIN PIMSLER, ca. 1950s
Charcoal and watercolor
Countess Mara
Donor: Artist (FIT faculty)
CATHERINE CLAYTON PURNELL, ca. 1980s
Colored pencils and watercolor
Women’s Wear Daily
Donor: Artist
GEORGE STAVRINOS, 1981
Graphite
Bergdorf Goodman
Donor: Artist
RUBEN TOLEDO, 2004
Tempera
Alexander McQueen dress
Donor: Artist