I’m in awe of the talented artist Thea Proctor. Her drawings are strong and concise. And she was a strong and concise kind of lady.

| Thea Proctor, Girl with Gloves, 1928 |
She was one of those tasteful (she loved the word) and always beautifully dressed ladies of the 1920s. Barry Humphries called her the most elegant and adorable woman.
Proctor wrote on fashion, flower arranging, colours for cars and interior decoration. Her quotable quote was: ‘I am not the sort of person who could sit at home and knit socks’.

| Thea Proctor, drawing for cover of The Home Journal, 1926 |
It makes me smile to see how she has used the graphic scarf device to frame this portrait for the cover of The Home Journal. A strong modern woman.
I’m always musing on the craft of art and the art of craft so I was happy to see Proctor also designed textiles in the 1940s for the doyen of interiors Marion Hall Best.
Up to her death in the 1960s she continued to draw daily.
Julia Ritson
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