Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the changing status of women in the 1920s

Repose c.1923
RCIN 927045

Matania, 'Nude woman at a marble bath' ©
In contrast to the warm sensuality of Matania’s classical subject, Catherine Gulley’s nude appears a little uncomfortable and chilled as she reclines awkwardly on the cold rocks of a British beach. In common with the watercolour on the right, it is likely that this miniature watercolour was based upon a life drawing, scaled-down and transposed from the artist’s studio to an exterior setting.