The New Woman by Sydney Grundy
Date1894
Artist
Albert George Morrow
(Irish painter, illustrator, and poster artist, 1863–1927)
Illustration CitationAdvertising poster for The New Woman by Sydney Grundy
Les Maitres de L'Affiche, plate 79
MediumFour-color commercial lithograph
Dimensionscomposition: 7 3/4 × 5 13/16 in. (19.7 × 14.8 cm)
sheet: 10 3/4 × 7 11/16 in. (27.3 × 19.5 cm)
sheet: 10 3/4 × 7 11/16 in. (27.3 × 19.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1986
Object number1986-150
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextThis poster for the Sydney Grundy play, The New Woman, was used for the London production and slightly modified for the New York run. By the 1890s the phrase “new woman” referred to women who turned away from their domestic roles, to focus on educational pursuits, political causes, and career opportunities. The poster depicts a woman pursuing her literary leanings surrounded by piles of manuscripts and books—one legibly titled “Man the Betrayer.” In the lower left corner of the poster a single smoldering cigarette refers to the new woman’s rebellion. As one of the characters in the play says, “…I smoke on principle.”
