The Ideal Cover Girl for 'Drawing Attention'

Peter Belchamber describes how an early 20th century portrait became a perfect early 21st century cover girl.

In View cover - Egon Schiele, Portrait of a Girl 1917

‘When artist Egon Schiele drew his Portrait of a Girl in 1917 he could have had no idea that more than 90 years later that drawing would be seen as an ideal cover for the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s magazine, In View.

Considered one of the most striking pictures in the forthcoming Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition, ‘Drawing Attention’, it would be perfect for the front cover.

But first an obstacle familiar to previous In View editor Ingrid Beazley and to current editor Peter Belchamber, had to be overcome.

The problem is that galleries (in this case the Art Gallery of Ontario) who own the pictures, often lay down strict rules about what publications may – and more pressingly, may not do – with images of their pictures. “No overprinting, no cropping, no bleeding” can be quite common.

Ingrid’s (and now Peter’s) dilemma is that the front cover needs to include the title of both the magazine and the exhibition from which the selected picture is taken. So how do you reconcile the two conflicting interests? And overcome an initial rejection?

Peter put his (and In View designer James Alexander’s) case to Gallery Director Ian Dejardin. The portrait was ideal: it was the most striking image available; more particularly, Schiele had left a large space in his portrait between the face and the interlocked hands of the sitter into which the two titles could easily be fitted. It was almost as if he had foreseen the design potential in creating this unusual gap.

Ian Dejardin readily took up the case in an email to his counterpart in Toronto – in his inimitable and highly-persuasive conversational style. Ian would simply “weep” if this ideal opportunity to draw attention to the exhibition was denied; would the AGO Director very kindly give his permission?

Days went by and then turned into weeks. The magazine’s deadline drew ever closer. An alternative front cover had to be put together (see above). And then, with just 48 hours to go, word came through from Canada. In View could feature the portrait on its front cover as planned. High fives and relief was the immediate reaction in Dulwich, but followed quickly by a strong feeling of gratitude for a generous concession by the Art Gallery of Ontario.

And so the early 20th century portrait became an ideal early 21st century cover girl.

Look out for her on the front cover of In View (£2 or free if you are a Friend)

Visit “Drawing Attention” at Dulwich Picture Gallery (21 October 2009– 27 January 2010) to see her in all her striking beauty and with her gap restored.