Julia H. Creamer - La Toque De Plume (the Feather Hat) - Watercolor

Circa 1908
Hungarian ash frame
Exhibition: Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts, 1908, No. 1309
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This delicately toned watercolor depicting an elegant young woman contemplating herself in a mirror is the work of a female artist of English origin, Julia Creamer. Little is known about her today except that she exhibited watercolors and pastels in Paris, at the Salon of the Société nationale des beaux-arts, for four consecutive years, between 1906 and 1909. Unfortunately, no professor's name appears in the catalogs, but the address given is in London, the artist's hometown where she was probably trained and where she also exhibited several times, from 1900 until at least 1915.
The labels and the letter preserved on the back of the watercolor indicate that it was exhibited at the 1908 Salon under the number 1309 and the title La toque de plume. The model's headdress is, in fact, the center of attention, distinguished by the use of rather vivid shades of blue and emerald that contrast with the rest of the portrait, done in pastel colors.
In her letter dated May 17, while the Salon was still open to visitors, Julia Creamer thanked her correspondent, in French, for the purchase of her watercolor. She also informed him that if he wanted her to sign it, this would require returning the work to London, worrying about the shipping costs. The purchaser did not follow up, no doubt judging that the label affixed to the frame and the documents glued to the back would be sufficient to attest to its origin.