Unveiling the forgotten visionary, the Dulwich Picture Gallery is offering a rare opportunity to view more than 80 of Tirzah Garwood’s works, and explore her ‘sophisticated naïve’ style that infused apparently innocent subjects with deeper meanings.
Representing each area of her practice, the exhibition showcases almost all of Garwood’s existing oil paintings, alongside wood engravings, pencil sketches, experimental marbled papers, and collaged paper constructions. The exhibition celebrates the full extent of her work, giving these captivating works the critical examination and public showcase they deserve.
Eileen ‘Tirzah’ Garwood (1908–1951) attended Eastbourne School of Art (1925–28), where she was taught by Eric Ravilious (1903–1942) whom she married in 1930. Author of the autobiography ‘Long Live Great Bardfield’, Garwood was as a fine artist and printmaker. Her oil paintings depict natural scenes of flowers, birds and insects, painted in enchanting colours. Inspired by her parents, who were both keen amateur artists, Garwood was encouraged to make botanical studies and draw scenes of fantasy and adventure. Her wood engravings were widely praised and several displayed by the Society of Wood Engravers – the first of which was accepted for an exhibition when she was still a teenager.
Her life was tragically cut short when she died of breast cancer aged only 42. During her stay at Copford Place, a nursing home after the cancer had spread, Garwood painted as much as her illness allowed, producing some 20 canvases. Confined to her bed, the canvasses were small and in the style of her delicate work, painted playful scenes with hidden complexities.
While the fame of her first husband Eric Ravilious (1903–1942) has increased in recent years, Garwood remains relatively unknown. The Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious Exhibition unveils her true talents and allows visitors to journey into the imaginative world of an artist who carved fairy tales out of difficult times, and breathed life into the inanimate.
Included in the exhibition are 11 works, including watercolours, by Eric Ravilious which draw out thematic similarities, shared interests, and distinct artistic personalities of this remarkable creative couple. The exhibition runs until the 26th of May 2025.