WOMAN WITH FLORAL SPRAY

An original drawing showing a dark haired woman in a long Art Nouveau-style floral patterned dress holding a long stem of flowers, surrounded by a border of small blossoms. Rendered in pen and ink, with the floor and flowers seeming to have been picked out with a water wash. A few pencil sketch lines can be seen beneath the ink. The reverse side has a painted border of green leaves, with "AF 61" written along the bottom in small pencil characters. The sheet measures 13 x 19.5 cm. In very good condition, the very edges lightly toned. Unframed.

A beautiful drawing by the Scottish artist Annie French (1872-1965) showing the influence of Aubrey Beardsley in the woman's aquiline facial features, solemn expression and dense line work, whilst clearly retaining French's recognisable soft and fluid style. French attended and later taught at the Glasgow School of Art alongside her contemporaries Margaret and Frances MacDonald and Jessie M. King at a time when Scottish art and design was enjoying a period of particular innovation and renown. The Glasgow School's distinctive collective style helped to shape the aesthetics of the British Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements at the turn of the twentieth century and beyond. Provenance: Christies Scotland, 9th April 1981, lot 19; Private collection.