Mid-Century Chic

Lucia Perrin was a freelance fashion illustrator in Manhattan from the 1950s until 1962. She was smart, talented, attractive, and in some ways unconventional, and although fashion illustration was her chosen profession, she had a complicated relationship with her work. Mid-Century Chic presents a selection of Lucia's sketches prefaced by a substantive contextual introduction exploring the status of fashion illustration, the alliance of art and commerce, New York's importance in the garment industry, women's enlarging roles, and the changing social standards of the time, as well as the particular skill and appeal of Lucia's professional efforts.