Lot 77: ALBERT GEORGE MORROW (1863-1927) THE NEW WOMAN. 1894.

29 1/2x20 inches. David Allen, Belfast.
Condition B+: overpainting in margins.
Morrow was a watercolorist and illustrator who became widely known thanks to an exhibition of his works sponsored by Comyas Can, the director of the English Illustrated Review, in the early 1890s. "One of Albert Morrow's best posters is the one he did for The New Woman in which there is much quaint suggestion and a simplicity of treatment which is very telling." (Rodgers p. 47). This poster is one of the first representations of the feminist movement, which was born in England. The image shows a bespectacled young intellectual, sitting serious surrounded by books and papers (including one titled "Man the Betrayer"). Within the red frame sits a smoldering cigarette, an emblem of female emancipation. While the play itself was a satire of the "liberation movement," the mere fact that the theme had made it to the stage was proof that the movement was gaining momentum. DFP I 101, Rodgers p. 47, Gold 157, Anglaise np.