This is the second iteration Clark painted on the theme of the Russian bath. The Russian public bath, or banya, was a national institution, particularly for working-class people who had no private bathroom. Men and women had separate facilities, so for Clark it represented a private world where women could perform their ablutions, socialize, and relax. She had fond memories of going there with her mother.
Paraskeva Clark: A Russian Émigré’s Eye on Canada
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Paraskeva Clark, Russian Bath, 1936
Watercolour on paper, sheet: 37 x 42.3 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto