This oil painting by American illustrator and stage designer George Watson Barratt was used as the cover for Today's Housewife, May 1921, and illustration for "The Peacock Robe," by Louise Rand Bascom in the same issue. It illustrates a serialized story about a beautiful young woman with pale skin and short black hair who receives an elegant long evening cloak decorated with layers of peacock feathers. She poses in profile turning to look at us wearing a fashionable dark dress with sheer lace sleeves and casually holds a yellow bag in her left hand. Framing her head is a gold disc on the wall. Deep turquoise jade green peacock statues sit on either side of her on the mantle. In the story, as she leaves for an evening out, a neighbor warns that peacocks are bad luck, a plot development that lends a mysterious air to the story and its illustration. After studying with Howard Pyle in 1908, Watson Barratt went on to a career in illustration, mural painting, and set design. The dramatic lighting, symmetrical placements, and carefully arranged costume in this scene suggest his theatrical interests.

The Peacock Robe by George Watson Barratt (American) - Oil on canvas / 1921 - Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #GeorgeWatsonBarratt #fineart #DelawareArtMuseum #AmericanArt #womensart #bskyart #romanticism #painting #ArtDeco #portrait #AmericanArtist #fashion #style