Exhibition poster outside the Courtauld Gallery of the work of Georgiana Houghton, a Victorian 'Spiritualist' abstract artist
Detail of a poster outside the Courtauld Gallery for an exhibition of the work of Georgiana Houghton, at the gallery at Somerset House, Strand, London. Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) was a Spiritualist medium who, in the 1860s and 70s, produced a series of abstract watercolours – well before the word ‘abstract’ actually had any meaning in the art world. The Courtauld Gallery ran an exhibition of her work between 16 June–11 September 2016. Houghton was a prominent figure of the early spiritualist movement in Victorian England – it was later championed by influential figures like Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Spiritualism was the belief that contact with a spirit world was possible. Houghton, a trained artist, pioneered the use of drawing as a method of channelling communication with spirit entities. During the 1860s and 1870s, she produced a series of abstract watercolours – Houghton called these works ‘spirit drawings’. These works are complex and layered with bold colours and fluid forms. They have an almost mesmerising effect. Detailed inscriptions on the back of the works indicate that her hand was guided by various spirits, including family members, several Renaissance artists, such as Titian and Correggio and angelic beings. Although produced in a very different context, Houghton’s works have close connections to twentieth-century abstract art. In 1871 Houghton presented 155 of her spirit drawings to a London audience. The exhibition proved to be a commercial failure and nearly bankrupted , less than fifty of her works are known – they are held in Melbourne, Australia.
Size: 3780px × 2519px
Location: Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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