Elisabeth Tomalin’s boldly-coloured head, elaborately constructed in pastel and gouache facets, was created during her studentship at Berlin's progressive Reimann Schule during the late 1920s. It takes inspiration from tribal masks and enamels, which she studied under noted Professor K H Rosenberg. After immigrating to the UK, Tomalin became a colour consultant at Heal’s and a successful designer in the British textile industry, setting up her own designs in a number of colourways. This process is anticipated in her choice of different colours for the two sides of her subject’s face, hair and background.
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