Lawrence.
Tirzah Harwood: Beyond Ravilious is the new show at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Tirzah Harwood has been very largely overshadowed by Eric Ravilious, her more celebrated husband, and this is the first major show of her work since 1951. She experimented with a number of media throughout her life and this show includes her wood engravings, watercolours, oils, collage and marbling as well as a sprinkling of works by Ravilious to illustrate their respective differences and similarities. The first room includes examples of these various media and serves as a summary of her artistic output.
Her early works are notable for the wood engravings – sharply observed, technically accomplished and often humourous – and paper marbling. The papers are inspired by organic plant forms and are delicate masterpieces of design.
Her later works focus on oil painting – arguably the medium which in which she flourished. She was a straightforward artist, but her paintings of ordinary life and her visual language very often speak of the world of children. Everyday subjects such as gardens, houses, animals and plants celebrate that world – particularly in terms of scale and positioning. But although the works are colourful and naive, they are not unsophisticated. Rather they are full of charm, mystery and a bit of dream-like magic. Many were painted in the last year of her life in a nursing home and you cannot help but admire her spirit, resilience and talent which shine forth from these pieces.
Tirzah Harwood: Beyond Ravilious runs until 26 May in Dulwich Picture Gallery, College Road, SE21 7AD.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 5pm. Ticket £18, concessions available. For more information go to www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
