Ithell Colquhoun - Between Worlds

Ithell Colquhoun - Between Worlds / art book edited by Katy Norris / 240-page hardback published in 2025 by Tate GISBN 9780300268096

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A landmark publication on an artist whose life has largely been shrouded in mystery, this dazzling volume reveals a daring visionary who charted her own course between two worlds: that of modern art and the realms of myth and magic.

Ithell Colquhoun (1906–1988) was one of the most ground-breaking artists of her generation. An important figure in British Surrealism during the 1930s and 1940s, she was also an innovative writer and practicing occultist, inspired by the metropolises of London and Paris as well as by the ancient landscape of Cornwall. Colquhoun investigated surrealist methods of unconscious picture-making and fearlessly delving into the realms of myth and magic, exploring the possibilities of a divine feminine power as a path to personal fulfilment and societal transformation.

Published to coincide with the first major exhibition of Colquhoun's work, this major publication features over 200 artworks and archival materials in tracing the artist's evolution: from her early student work and engagement with the surrealist movement, to her fascination with the intertwining realms of art, sexual identity, ecology and occultism. It culminates in a room dedicated to Colquhoun’s interpretation of the Taro deck – her most accomplished fusion of her artistic and magical practice.

Explore Colquhoun’s enthralling, multi-layered universe through writings, drawings, paintings, early theatre projects and mural designs, many of which have never been shown publicly before.