Ithell Colquhoun: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Ithell Colquhoun.jpg|right| | [[File:Ithell Colquhoun.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Ithell Colquhoun]] | ||
'''Ithell Colquhoun''' (1906-1988) was a British surrealist, occultist, poet, and writer. | '''Ithell Colquhoun''' (1906-1988) was a British surrealist, occultist, poet, and writer. | ||
== Personal life == | == Personal life == | ||
Margaret Ithell Colquhoun was born on [[October 9]], 1906 in Shillong, a hill town in the far north eastern region of India situated between Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Her parents were Henry Archibald Colebrooke Colquhoun and Georgia Frances Ithell Manley. Her education took place in Rodwell, near Weymouth, Dorset. She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, spent a year at Cheltenham School of Art, and then the Slade School of Art in London, beginning in 1927. | Margaret Ithell Colquhoun was born on [[October 9]], 1906 in Shillong, a hill town in the far north eastern region of India situated between Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Her parents were Henry Archibald Colebrooke Colquhoun, a British civil servant, and Georgia Frances Ithell Manley. Her education took place in Rodwell, near Weymouth, Dorset. She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, spent a year at Cheltenham School of Art, and then the Slade School of Art in London, beginning in 1927. | ||
== Artistic career == | == Artistic career == | ||
[[File:Detail of Judith-Holofernes by Colquhoun.png|right|160px|thumb|Detail of Judith painting, 1929]] | |||
Public recognition of Colquhoun's artistry began in 1929, when she was awarded the Slade's Summer Composition Prize for her oil painting '''''Judith Showing the Head of Holofernes'''''. Two years later it was exhibited in the Royal Academy, now it is held in the collection of the University of London. While the concept of painting a woman holding a severed head seems grisly to modern eyes, this scene has been the subject of many paintings by great masters and is seen in a corner of the Sistine Chapel. Interpretations have evolved over time from Judith as a heroine trying to protect her people from Assyrian (Holofernes) aggression; to Judith as a virtuous example of womanhood; to Judith defeating Protestant heresy; to the triumph of spiritual discernment over the corruption and tyranny. | |||
Throughout her career, Colquhoun covered a wide range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, architectural renditions, theatrical scenes, and | |||
In 2019, the Tate acquired the artist's archive of 5,000 pieces from the National Trust. | |||
== Involvement with Theosophists == | == Involvement with Theosophists == | ||
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* '''''[https://archive.org/details/IthellColquhoun-SwordOfWisdom-MathersMacGregrorAndTheGoldenDawn Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and the “Golden Dawn”]'''''. London: Neville Spearman, 1975. First American edition, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975. | * '''''[https://archive.org/details/IthellColquhoun-SwordOfWisdom-MathersMacGregrorAndTheGoldenDawn Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and the “Golden Dawn”]'''''. London: Neville Spearman, 1975. First American edition, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975. | ||
* Crying of the Wind: Ireland (1955) | |||
* The Living Stones: Cornwall (1957). | |||
== Additional resources == | == Additional resources == | ||
== Articles == | |||
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithell_Colquhoun Ithell Colquhoun] in Wikipedia. | * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithell_Colquhoun Ithell Colquhoun] in Wikipedia. | ||
* [https://artuk.org/discover/stories/the-magic-surrealism-of-ithell-colquhoun The Magic Surrealism of Ithell Colquhoun] by Amy Hale. Posted 17 Jun 2020 on ArtUK.org. | |||
=== Websites ===: | |||
* [http://ithellcolquhoun.co.uk/index.htm Ithell Colquhoun: Magician Born of Nature]. "Follow these links for a series of brief essays about Colquhoun’s artistic development; a comprehensive catalogue of her paintings, drawings and watercolours; pages that list all the known exhibitions in which her work has been included and where to see her works in public collections." | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
Revision as of 11:55, 6 January 2026
Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) was a British surrealist, occultist, poet, and writer.
Personal life
Margaret Ithell Colquhoun was born on October 9, 1906 in Shillong, a hill town in the far north eastern region of India situated between Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Her parents were Henry Archibald Colebrooke Colquhoun, a British civil servant, and Georgia Frances Ithell Manley. Her education took place in Rodwell, near Weymouth, Dorset. She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, spent a year at Cheltenham School of Art, and then the Slade School of Art in London, beginning in 1927.
Artistic career
Public recognition of Colquhoun's artistry began in 1929, when she was awarded the Slade's Summer Composition Prize for her oil painting Judith Showing the Head of Holofernes. Two years later it was exhibited in the Royal Academy, now it is held in the collection of the University of London. While the concept of painting a woman holding a severed head seems grisly to modern eyes, this scene has been the subject of many paintings by great masters and is seen in a corner of the Sistine Chapel. Interpretations have evolved over time from Judith as a heroine trying to protect her people from Assyrian (Holofernes) aggression; to Judith as a virtuous example of womanhood; to Judith defeating Protestant heresy; to the triumph of spiritual discernment over the corruption and tyranny.
Throughout her career, Colquhoun covered a wide range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, architectural renditions, theatrical scenes, and
In 2019, the Tate acquired the artist's archive of 5,000 pieces from the National Trust.
Involvement with Theosophists
During her studies at Slade School of Art in London, she met Theosophist G. R. S. Mead and joined his Quest Society. She wrote an article called "The Prose of Alchemy" in one of that group's last periodicals, The Quest.
Her book Sword of Wisdom documents the Golden Dawn and its overlapping membership with the Theosophical Society.
Writings
- Sword of Wisdom: MacGregor Mathers and the “Golden Dawn”. London: Neville Spearman, 1975. First American edition, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975.
- Crying of the Wind: Ireland (1955)
- The Living Stones: Cornwall (1957).
Additional resources
Articles
- Ithell Colquhoun in Wikipedia.
- The Magic Surrealism of Ithell Colquhoun by Amy Hale. Posted 17 Jun 2020 on ArtUK.org.
=== Websites ===:
- Ithell Colquhoun: Magician Born of Nature. "Follow these links for a series of brief essays about Colquhoun’s artistic development; a comprehensive catalogue of her paintings, drawings and watercolours; pages that list all the known exhibitions in which her work has been included and where to see her works in public collections."
