Following its fascinating exhibition of work by the Japanese Yoshida family, Dulwich Picture Gallery has now set the stage for a retrospective of British artist Tirzah Garwood (1908-1951). The choice of artist underscores the originality of the Gallery’s approach to exhibitions. Almost ten years have passed since her husband, Eric Ravilious, was featured in an exhibition there, and the story now feels complete.
This is the first time the full range of Garwood’s work has been shown. There are more than eighty of her works to be viewed, including pen and ink drawings, wood engravings and the majority of her existing oil paintings. The latter are particularly thought-provoking; Garwood began painting in oil after a series of tragic events in her life. In 1942 she had an emergency mastectomy for breast cancer and wrote her autobiography while recovering from surgery. A few months later she learned that her husband had died in a plane crash, while travelling on a commission from the War Artists’ Advisory Committee. With three children under the age of seven and the government reluctant to pay her widow’s pension, she would have faced a mountain of grief. However, in 1944, with courage and determination, she moved to a new house in the country and resumed life as an artist. The style she adopted was deliberately naïve and direct. Incorporating children’s toys and well-known flowers and insects, the paintings appear familiar, yet simultaneously disquieting.
James Russell, Curator of the exhibition and a leading specialist on Ravilious, said, “Tirzah Garwood found her subjects in the everyday world around her, from members of her family to pets, insects, toys and buildings. Whatever her clear gaze rested on, her playful imagination and skill in technique and composition transformed into something strange, magical and utterly captivating. Curating this exhibition has been like opening a box of treasures.”
Audio guides packed with information about the exhibition can be found on the Bloomberg Connects App (Your Guide to Arts & Culture). This is well worth downloading before you go.
The exhibition runs until May 2025.