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

St. Cecilia c.1923
RCIN 926958
Although the jeweller and craftswoman Kate Eadie was born forty years after Henry Holiday their contributions to the Dolls’ House have much in common. The far-reaching influence of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident in the meticulous repeating pattern of the blue lattice and in the stylised floral foil comprising the backdrop to this depiction of St Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. The strict profile format hints at a debt to Pre-Raphaelite and Renaissance portraiture.