It’s amusing to compare today’s practical, comfortable plein air painting outfits with those worn by artists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Clearly, no self-respecting artist of the period would have painted outdoors without being properly attired in a jacket and tie, or a flowing white skirt.
Sir Alfred Munnings creates an oil portrait of his friend Dame Laura Knight while she paints horses in a field.
Ladies and gentlemen who took summer art classes in Old Lyme, Connecticut, would, of course, be properly attired.
The always stylish Louis Comfort Tiffany wears a vested white painting suit in this portrait by his friend Joaquin Sorolla.
