La Robe de Velours, c. 1911

F. Ernest Jackson ARA (1872 - 1945)

RA Collection: Art

This lithograph, along with 'Effet de Lumière', was exhibited by Jackson at the Paris Salon in 1911. These works were praised by the reviewer of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts as two of the best lithographs in the exhibition. As J. G. P. Delaney points out, in both prints 'the artist combines scratching and rubbing with delicate linear touches of a sharp lithographic crayon to create magical effects of light which enhance the air of melancholy in the sitter's face' (p. 26).

The sitter is the artist's wife Gertrude Anne Jackson (née Templeton) who was a professional singer. She met F. E. Jackson while working for Beerbohm Tree's company at His Majesty's Theatre where the artist was designing sets. After her marriage she became a bookbinder.

Further reading: J.G.P. Delaney, F. Ernest Jackson and his School, exhibition catalogue, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 2000