ma Elvgren Going Up Gil Elvgren (1914-1980)

The composition presents a woman in a moment of apparent surprise and slight distress, positioned adjacent to an elevator door. She is clad in a tailored suit, accented by a vibrant red cowboy hat and matching gloves. The skirt of her suit is slightly raised, revealing stockings and legs crossed at the ankle, a detail that draws attention to her form. Her expression conveys a mixture of shock and perhaps playful apprehension, amplified by wide eyes and parted lips.
The setting is dominated by an intense orange hue, which saturates both the background and the elevator door itself. This color choice contributes to a sense of artificiality and heightened drama. The elevator panel, with its illuminated Up button, serves as a crucial element in the narrative. It suggests movement, ascent, and potentially, an unexpected or unwelcome journey.
The inclusion of a calendar at the bottom right corner, dated January 1946, firmly situates the work within a specific historical context – the immediate post-war era. This detail implies that the image was likely intended for commercial use, possibly as part of a promotional campaign or decorative item. The phrase Going Up inscribed near the woman’s leg reinforces the elevator motif and adds another layer to the implied narrative.
Subtextually, the work engages with themes of femininity, allure, and modernity. The womans pose and attire are suggestive of idealized beauty standards prevalent in mid-century American culture. However, her expression introduces an element of vulnerability and unexpectedness that complicates this portrayal. The elevator, a symbol of progress and upward mobility, becomes a vehicle for a potentially unsettling scenario.
The overall effect is one of playful ambiguity. Is the woman genuinely alarmed by something happening within the elevator? Or does her reaction represent a carefully constructed performance intended to elicit amusement or desire from the viewer? The painting’s charm lies in its ability to simultaneously present an image of idealized femininity and hint at underlying anxieties about modernity, social expectations, and the unpredictable nature of progress.