"Petal"

Charles James

1951 · silk · Costume Institute

The petal ball gown, a variant on a dress first made for Millicent Rogers in 1949, is typical of James's interst in deriving designs from nature, at least purportedly, with such biomorphic forms and names in preparatory sketches, including the tree, butterfly, swan, and clover-leaf. But James's hyper-nature was invariably rather more dreamer and fantacist than laboratory biologist.

Artist

Charles James

Date

1951

Medium

silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Marietta Tree, 1965