Girl in a yellow drape

Girl in a Yellow Drape, also painted in 1901, is a companion study to 'Girl in Yellow Drapery' from the same year, both canvases exploring the chromatic and compositional possibilities of warm yellow fabric against the characteristic cool tones of Godward's marble-dominated settings. The existence of two yellow-draped figure studies from the same year suggests either that Godward found the chromatic experiment particularly productive or that the subject was commercially successful with collectors who found the warm color note an appealing variation on his more typical cool-toned classical compositions.

As in the companion yellow drapery canvas, the warm ochre tones of the fabric are played against the cool white and grey of the marble setting, the temperature contrast creating the compositional energy of an otherwise static figure study. The handling of the drapery's fall and fold is treated with the same precision as all Godward's textile renderings.