The Woman in White
Frederick Walker, ARA (1840-1875)
1871
Gouache on paper
2172 x 1289 mm
Courtesy of Tate Britain N02080
Presented by Sir Claude Phillips in memory of his sister Eugenie Phillips 1906
This life-sized poster is one of the first examples of a fine artist undertaking an advertisement. It was made for Wilkie Collins’s ‘sensation’ play The Woman in White, which opened at the Olympic Theatre, London in October 1871. It combines a Pre-Raphaelite-style beauty with black and white graphic design. Sweeping lines pull the viewer’s eye to the woman’s mysterious and inviting expression.— Tate Britain Commentary
