Before Armstrong established himself as one of the most distinctive and important artists of the British avant-garde, he had already enjoyed a successful career as a highly sought-after designer for British stage and screen. His collaborations included work with Robert Donat and Alexander Korda, creating costumes and sets for stage works such as Façade, The Magic Flute (Sadler’s Wells), and Riverside Nights and for the films The Private life of Henry VIII, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Rembrandt. These previously unpublished group of watercolours recall the great design work done for Diagilev’s Ballet Russes. They are unusually attractive, free and finished for working designs perhaps suggesting they were not intended for specific productions but rather as individual works of art in their own right. The focus on the figure’s movement rather than specific characterisation or instructions to a costumier may also suggest ballet as an inspiration.  The style of execution suggests a date of the late 1930s to the 1940s. I am grateful to Jonathan Gibbs for his assistance.