Woodman's Shop Window
Drawing
ca. 1945 (made), 1945 (published)
ca. 1945 (made), 1945 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Although he trained as an actor, Rolf Brandt enjoyed drawing and making collages. In his native Germany he developed an interest in Dada and Surrealism and in Bauhaus artists such as Paul Klee. He moved to London from Hamburg in the early 1930s with his brother Bill (1904–83), who became famous as a photographer.
This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to shop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys.
Here a small boy looks into a shop window filled with brightly painted wooden toys. The sepia tones used to paint the two conversing figures seen through the doorway on the right suggest one remove from reality.
This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to shop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys.
Here a small boy looks into a shop window filled with brightly painted wooden toys. The sepia tones used to paint the two conversing figures seen through the doorway on the right suggest one remove from reality.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Gouache on paper, on card support |
| Brief description | Gouache drawing: illustration no 8 from a set of 9 for 'The Story of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane |
| Physical description | Gouache painting on thick paper pasted to brown cardboard support which has residual glue marks etc. Image is of a shop front with the name Woodman & Son above the window. The latter is filled with brightly painted wooden objects for children: a rocking horse, a toy train engine, an easel, a chair and table, a ladder, a wardrobe. a little boy, back to viewer gazes into the window. To the right of the window a doorway through which can be viewed two men standing in profile facing each other in what looks like the interior of the shop, save that it is painted in sepia monochrome, in contrast to the colour of the window itself, and the objects are no longer toys but objets d'art, such as a portrait bust on a stand. Tissue paper and thin paper cover-sheet attached by sellotape to back. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by the artist's children |
| Production | This is the design for the eighth illustration for the children's book 'The Story Of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane (the first is for the cover). The eight other designs for illustrations are also in the collection. At the time of acquisition the drawings were in a wrapper labelled with a list of titles of the individual drawings. It is not clear if these were assigned by the artist, publisher or artist's family. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | 'The Story Of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane, published 1945 |
| Summary | Although he trained as an actor, Rolf Brandt enjoyed drawing and making collages. In his native Germany he developed an interest in Dada and Surrealism and in Bauhaus artists such as Paul Klee. He moved to London from Hamburg in the early 1930s with his brother Bill (1904–83), who became famous as a photographer. This is one of nine illustrations that Brandt made for the children’s book The Story of a Tree by Stephen McFarlane. Charting the passage of a tree from forest to sawmill to carpenter’s workshop to shop, the images are a charming example of illustration for children at the end of the Second World War. Brandt’s interest in Surrealism is evident in some of the illustrations, especially the cover page, where the trees take on the forms of furniture and toys. Here a small boy looks into a shop window filled with brightly painted wooden toys. The sepia tones used to paint the two conversing figures seen through the doorway on the right suggest one remove from reality. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.546:8-2005 |
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| Record created | December 23, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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