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See Ithell Colquhoun paintings at 2 Willow Road
See the temporary exhibition of two Ithell Colquhoun paintings and explore the artist's connections to 2 Willow Road.
Experience Surrealist art in a Modernist setting
Nestled amongst other gems in the Goldfinger's family home are two paintings by the British painter and Occultist, Ithell Colquhoun. On temporary display at 2 Willow Road, to celebrate her connections to the house and the area, these paintings were part of a gift in her will from the artist to the National Trust.
Dust Devil, 1969 is enamel paint on canvas. It uses the Surrealist process of dripping paint onto the canvas to form a 'convulsive landscape'. The result for this painting is an abstract swirling shape in the centre of the work; what Colquhoun saw as a dust cloud. Colquhoun believed that nature had power and that environmental phenomena are alive in spirit. This was an important work to Colquhoun and was part of several of her exhibitions.
Torso, 1981 is enamel paint on board. This painting draws on ideas from Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. The geometric composition represents a body with coloured shapes to representing the 'lataif-e-sitta', six elements said to be part of the spiritual self. Colquhoun was influenced by the Occult revival and for her, divine energy existed as colours and shapes.
Explore Ithell Colquhoun's connections to Hampstead
The Goldfingers hosted a remarkably successful Aid To Russia exhibition in 1942 in order to raise funds for the country. Russia was suffering in the midst of WWII and the the Goldfingers were amongst the first groups of artists and designers to develop an exhibition to show solidarity and to fundraise for the cause.
Ithell Colquhoun visited the exhibition and her signature appears in the visitor's book for the exhibition (photo above). On sale at the exhibition was the Salvo for Russia booklet by Nancy Cunard containing poems (including one by Cunard) and engravings critiquing war. One of the engravings was Colquhoun's print of her painting Dance of the Nine Opals (main image), which encapsulated her Occult and Surrealist interests.
The Goldfingers may have crossed paths with Ithell Colquhoun in Paris in 1931, and again in 1936 in London when both Ursula and Colquhoun attended the Ozenfant Academy. In 1949 Colquhoun became a neighbour of the Goldfingers when she moved into Gluck's studio on Windmill Hill in Hampstead.
Book your visit to 2 Willow Road to experience the paintings and imagine the buzz of the house when Ithell Colquhoun visited for the exhibition in 1942.
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