Accession Code: wu0401w Title: The Draper's Shop Date completed: 1953 Medium: Drawing Materials: Pencil, ink Height (mm): 210 Width (mm): 270 Depth (mm): n/a Inscription: Signed Olga Frazer 1953, lower right. Location Name: Faculty of Arts Building Location Description: Faculty of Arts Location Floor: 2

This detailed drawing may have been made on site or constructed back at the studio from quick sketches made at the shop. At the time, it was probably viewed as an exercise in composition, challenging the artist to deal with perspective, the drawing of figures and objects. Over fifty years later, it has become an historical document. Draper's Shops have all but disappeared from the high street since the advent of cheap imports coupled with long working hours for most families means that clothes can be bought more cheaply than they can be made and that few people have the time to indulge in this hobby. The interior of shops have changed as well. It is rare to find bentwood chairs where the customer can sit while they are being served. The casual mix of domestic furniture and shop fittings is now more contrived, ironically in order to evoke exactly this ambience of unhurried life, fifty or so years ago.