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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case I, Shelf 189

'Pin-up' girl speaking on the telephone with a letter in her hand

Watercolour
1940s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Wilfrid R. Addey (1912-1999) worked as a commercial artist for over sixty years, working for Dorland Advertising and Mitchells among other London advertising firms. His work shows the range of products and illustration styles, from aeroplanes and cars, beer and perfume, to satirical cartoons and calendar pin-up girls and is representative of the post war boom in advertising during the late 1940s and 1950s.

This watercolour shows a pin-up girl kneeling on the floor facing left while turning her head slightly out to the audience. She is shown wearing a pink bikini. Bikinis first appeared in Europe in 1947 and reportedly created a shock in France when women began wearing them on the beaches. The pin-up is shown talking on a telephone while in her left hand she holds what is presumably a love letter, signed with six kisses. The figure type, with her thin high eyebrows, long eyelashes, defined lips, long face and long willowy body is typical of the 1940s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title'Pin-up' girl speaking on the telephone with a letter in her hand (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour
Brief description
Wilfrid R. Addey (1912-1999). Watercolour showing a pin-up girl wearing a bikini. She is shown speakingon the telephone while holding a love letter in her left hand. 20th century British School.
Physical description
Watercolour showing a 'pin-up' girl wearing a bikini. She is shown speaking on the telephone while holding a love letter in her left hand.
Dimensions
  • Height: 53.4cm
  • Width: 39.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
'ADDEY' (Signed in blue ink below the figure's left elbow)
Credit line
Given by K. D. and E. F. Law
Summary
Wilfrid R. Addey (1912-1999) worked as a commercial artist for over sixty years, working for Dorland Advertising and Mitchells among other London advertising firms. His work shows the range of products and illustration styles, from aeroplanes and cars, beer and perfume, to satirical cartoons and calendar pin-up girls and is representative of the post war boom in advertising during the late 1940s and 1950s.

This watercolour shows a pin-up girl kneeling on the floor facing left while turning her head slightly out to the audience. She is shown wearing a pink bikini. Bikinis first appeared in Europe in 1947 and reportedly created a shock in France when women began wearing them on the beaches. The pin-up is shown talking on a telephone while in her left hand she holds what is presumably a love letter, signed with six kisses. The figure type, with her thin high eyebrows, long eyelashes, defined lips, long face and long willowy body is typical of the 1940s.
Collection
Accession number
E.210-2003

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Record createdMay 14, 2009
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