Wallpaper study, peacock design

Edgar Miller
c. 1950s
Gouache on board
L 52, W 100 cm

Miller was only commissioned to create a single set of wallpapers for the company Basset & Vollum, which was his original Tower Court Collection, published in the late 1940s. He would, however, go on to paint dozens and dozens more of what appear to be unrealized wallpaper designs. It is unclear whether Miller hoped for more wallpaper commissions, or simply that he enjoyed the creative process. A technique of Miller’s often used throughout his graphic design and painting career can be clearly observed here, where the first layers of the painting (pinks, blues, reds) mark out the forms and overall structure of the subjects, and then Miller layers on top of that the detail-work in his carefully controlled but seemingly effortless lines in white. This sample swatch does not appear to allow for immediate repetition and alignment for actual installation, one reason this may not have made it to the next step of mass production. Miller would likely have worked on this piece extemporaneously, without sketch or guide, as he did with much of his body of work.