Portrait of Natalie Mei

In 1924, Natalie Mei was the first woman to graduate from the Higher Art School Pallas. This expressionist-style portrait by her fellow student Kuno Veeber depicts her in bold, strong strokes. The artist is portrayed as a modern emancipated woman, looking strong and confident, and distinctly different from the fashionable ladies who typically posed for the portraits of the time. With a bob haircut, a man’s shirt and a tie, she invites comparison with “bachelor girls” or “flappers”: the modern young women of the 1920s who flouted the gender and social conventions with their bold dress and behaviour.