Luxury: Christian Dior: Design Revolutionary

Luxury

Luxury Auction Tues 17 Nov, 6pm MELBOURNE

ABOVE: A LADY DIOR HANDBAG BY CHRISTIAN DIOR Sold for $1,875

OPPOSITE: CHRISTIAN DIOR'S 'NEW LOOK', INTRODUCED IN FEBRUARY 1947.

Christian Dior: Design Revolutionary —

When we think about Christian Dior today, a handbag may be the first thing that comes to mind, such as the classic ‘Lady Dior’ bag made famous by fashion icon Lady Diana. This accessory was not actually made with Diana in mind, but was gifted to her in 1995 by Bernadette Chriac, then wife of the Mayor of Paris, but this is only part of the story. A younger generation may not realise what a genius Dior was, and just how dramatically he revolutionised the post World War II fashion world with his fresh and stylish designs that would come to be known as the ‘New Look’.

Christian Dior went out on his own in December 1946, and was rocketed to Haute Couture stardom in the following year. In 1938, he became an assistant designer for the leading couturier of Paris, Robert Piguet, and four years later joined the house of designer Lucien Lelong. Even though Dior was financially backed for his solo venture, by this time his following was so great that it was decided the house would be called Christian Dior.

The ‘New Look’ was launched in February 1947, only two months after Dior set up at his Parisian headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne, which was originally a private house. It was the chief editor of Harper’s Bazaar who coined the mark of this new era in couture, exclaiming ‘It’s such a new look!’ This was a revolutionary style for women at the time with its silhouette characterised by a small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length, which emphasised the bust and hips.

The New Look became extremely popular with its distinctive silhouette influencing other fashion designers well into the 1950s, emphasising post war prosperity through generous use of material after years of cloth rationing. It had some critics, with some finding the look too indulgent. Fellow designer Coco Chanel was said to have remarked ‘Only a man who never was intimate with a woman could design something that uncomfortable.’ Despite this, the look continues to inspire fashion and designers into the 21st Century.

…And what of Dior? Sadly, in October 1957 Christian Dior prematurely passed away due to a heart attack at age 52. By the time of his death, his name had become synonymous with taste and luxury. His successor was 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent, who had joined the House in 1955… The rest is another story.

JOHN D'AGATA / Head of Luxury

Australian born artist John Hall Thorpe (1874 – 1947) learnt the technique of woodblock printing in the early 1890s at the ‘Sydney Mail’, under the apprenticeship of John Fairfax and Sons. It was over the course of nine years that he mastered the technique of wood engraving. Thorpe spoke very highly of these influential years and cherished his time: “I received, every encouragement in my art, and I have since found the knowledge I gained of wood engraving during my apprenticeship to be of incalculable value” Relocating to London in 1902, Thorpe struggled to gain recognition but made a small start with a handful of drawings for commercial magazines and papers. Thorpe began to paint small personal pieces depicting his new surroundings. During his time living abroad, Thorpe was invited to exhibit at the 1906 Royal Academy’s Colonial Exhibition alongside fellow Australian artists such as Arthur Streeton and Hayley Lever. Thorpe’s breakthrough moment in this exhibition was when he receive a favourable comment from respected art critic Cameille Mauclair, “I knew nothing – of Mr. Hall Thorpe before seeing his works collected here, but from the first glance I felt that I was in the presence of a true artist; that is, one for whom technique has but one mission, one safeguard, and one purpose – the expression of sentiment, which is everything… He paints not merely what he sees, but what he has thought. This is why his art has in it something moving – intimate – and it is perhaps when art speaks to us in a subdued voice that our hearts listen most profoundly” Once Thorpe’s artwork gained recognition, his whole attitude towards the process went under a complete Prints & Multiples Auction Wed 18 Nov, 6pm MELBOURNE

LEFT: HALL THORPE Piccadilly (London) Colour woodblock $600-800

OPPOSITE: HALL THORPE A Summer Bunch (detail) Colour woodblock

Prints & Multiples

Hall Thorpe: Colour and Expression —

$1,000-1,500 change. He began to view artworks from an aesthetic point of view, captivating colour, simplification in its expression and shadow no further than essential to form. With this new outlook and take on his technique, Thorpe begun to use new subjects, such as his now renowned floral still lifes, fruit still-lifes, and landscapes. The still life prints portray a variety of rich colours and form, immediately appealing to a broad range of collectors to brighten their homes. Thorpe undertook each step of the printing process himself, from the design through to the publishing proving that his time at the ‘Sydney Mail’ served him well. This is perhaps the reason that he felt no need to limit specific editions.

It was during this time that Thorpe produced ‘A Country Bunch’, at the time the largest woodblock print to be printed in colour with the first printing acquired by the Contemporary Art Society, Australia. This was the first of many of Thorpe’s prints to be acquired by notable collectors and institutions. ‘Three Wise Men’ was added to the print collection of the British Museum in which it is still held. At exhibition, her Majesty the Queen Mary showed appreciation and purchased ‘Anchusa’, a delicate blue flower that Her Majesty was fond of.

His artworks feel like a walk through a familiar garden, the colour is consistent and considered with an emphasis on the pure joyousness of fresh colour. Hall Thorpe is now a widely collected printmaker on a global scale. I am delighted to invite you to view our recently consigned collection of Hall Thorpe woodblock prints featured in the November Prints and Multiples auction.

HANNAH RYAN / Prints & Multiples Manager