Fashion illustrations strike a pose

Before the days of Photoshop and full-color advertising inserts in newspapers, black-and-white sketches in daily newspapers made us long for certain dresses, suits, shirts and boots. In Omaha, many were drawn by Mary Mitchell.

From 1968 to 1989, more than 1,000 illustrations by the Omaha artist were showcased in retail advertisements published in the Omaha World-Herald.

On Saturday the Durham Museum will open an exhibit highlighting Mitchell's career in fashion illustration. It will showcase 150 drawings from her private collection. Many are ads for stores such as Topp's, Goldstein Chapman, Herzberg's and Zoob's. Period clothing on loan from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Textile, Clothing, and Design collection will be on display. Pages from The World-Herald will show how Mitchell's advertising appeared in the newspaper. And there will be a video about Mitchell's career narrated by Oscar-winning director-screenwriter Alexander Payne. Payne is a long-time friend of Mitchell.

Mitchell's fashion illustrations pre-date big-box retailers and mass merchandising. Omaha department stores, women's wear stores, men's shops and shoe shops wanted newspaper advertisements that would draw customers into their stores for clothing by certain designers and specific styles.

"She had to capture the essence of a garment and give it the kind of allure that would attract the customer to the store," said Michael F. James, chair of UNL's Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design. "She did that with real sophistication and style. And she did it in a classic way that suited the temperament in Omaha, Lincoln and Nebraska as a whole.

"It's a difficult enterprise to condense into a few lines and shadings the detail of the garment," James said. "She has to show the basic structure and give it elegance and grace. That was one of her strengths. She could take the garment and bring it down to essentials and get the client to be excited about that."

Mitchell's work was a step beyond the informational sketching that fashion designers do today, James said. It was communicating with potential buyers, a job that is now done almost entirely by photos and video.

Her creativity extended to the poses, accessories and simple backdrops that appeared in the illustrations.

"Illustrators had some creative liberties," he said. "She knew when she could add a little invention and accessorize the model. In her work there is a real sense of self-confidence."

Lowell Lutt, a long-time account executive for retail advertising at the World-Herald, remembers well the illustrations Mitchell produced.

"Major department and specialty stores sought out Mary Mitchell for her unique ability to produce dramatic illustrations of the latest fashions," he said. "Mary created newspaper ads that, over the years, sold millions of dollars of clothing. She was widely regarded and respected as the premier fashion artist of her time."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com

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