Giddy and guileless Grammar Girls Cartoons

Drawing and painting were then the mainstays of the art classroom, rather than the wide-ranging and eclectic artwork in current curriculum and times, although former student and artist Isabella Power (Richard, 1966) remembers being offered challenging art projects in this classroom. Compare Isabella’s cartoon with this official photograph.

The Art Studio in the 1960s, now W1.4

As a Year 10 student, Isabella contributed sketches in response to a call out for illustrations to grace School Magazine publications. Her depiction of the art class with Mr Timmermans, in many ways, reveals more than the official image. We are given insights into not only the mood of students but also the dress of the time. Some students can be seen wearing the square neck sports uniform (gym tunic) of the day, while others in full School uniform wear black stockings—part of the uniform at the time, no matter what the season. Hair, if long, is carefully tied in pigtails with ribbons. No hair was to touch the collar of the School blouse.