The tradition of tapestry weaving dates back thousands of years and spans continents and cultures. In the last century, the Scottish artist Archie Brennan was considered one of the preeminent masters of the technique — creating more than 500 works over 70 years of practice.
In his early career, Brennan ran the Edinburgh tapestry workshop Dovecot Studios, established the tapestry program at Edinburgh College of Art, and advised and taught in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Traditional tapestries are large, but Brennan advised his students to create small works with simple, upright looms. He encouraged them to look for inspiration in everything from newspaper clippings and postcards to pop culture and maps, and he always advocated equally for artist and concept.
In 1993, Brennan put this belief into practice. He retired from formal institutions, moved to New York and for the remainder of his life wove only his own designs.
Created around 1993, Lady in Kimono displays Brennan’s decision to refocus on woven tapestry’s long-established pictorial role. He used simple lines to depict a woman in dishabille. Her image stayed with him and emerged in two later works. In An Asian Equation, the woman joins four companions with rice bowls. Portiere/Portiere, At a Window XVIII depicts her at full length, formally posed against a patterned curtain with her kimono puddling around her feet.
