A red umbrella is a visual focal point in a photograph or painting. It has been a symbol for raising funds and awareness for sex trade workers since 2001.
But our story today is how artists have used a red umbrella as a visual theme in their work.
Here are a few images from the Red Umbrella Collection of artist Liz Hess. Her site has more than 100 pictures featuring a red umbrella focal point. They are delightfully playful.
Here is another interpretation of the red umbrella - this one a sophisticated visual story. This comes from a blog with the podcast of the title Open Your Umbrella - a spiritual journey blog.
There is a romantic red umbrella theme - and the most prevalent setting for the romantic red umbrella is Paris, with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Here's an iconic example:
Banksy's image of Banksy Girl with Balloon (2004), a whimsical image with a red balloon, comes up in the search. It has a red umbrella style.
Th umbrella story started more than 4,000 years ago - Egypt, Assyria, Greece and China all had umbrellas in their ancient art, but not as a key theme. This image is by Anthonis van Dyck - Marchesa Elena Grimaldi, done in 1623. It shows the visual dominance of the red umbrella in this portrait.
Our adventure with a red umbrella happened yesterday. It was part of our winter walk. It demonstrates its compelling dominance in the winter snow scene.
