Inspirational Women ~ The Magical Tirzah Garwood
- Tara Deighton
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
On Friday last, I got on a train to the Big Smoke to go and see the exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery ~ Tirzah Garwood 'Beyond Ravilious' and it was so utterly magical, I had to share a little of the magic with you today.
Tirzah, because obvs we are on first name terms, is an artist I was unfamiliar with until one visit to The Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, I was struck by an incredible print of a cat. And I was enchanted! I had to find out more about her and as luck would have it, a dedicated exhibition focusing on her many beautiful works completed over her far too short life, was on in Dulwich. I took a few photographs but it can be so hard to get good images in galleries due to crowds, lighting and my own lack of proficiency at taking photographs! But I'll share what I can here and urge you to find out more at your leisure.
Born in 1908, Tirzah worked mainly through the 1920's up until her sad passing in 1951and although her body of work is relatively small, it is exceptional in it's magical beauty.
Her renderings of cats has a special place in my heart and it was so lovely to see these beauties.
Ghost seemed to especially enjoy this postcard, which I feel is totally appropriate. It took quite a while to remove him as there were other postcards underneath him!
I absolutely LOVED the colour of the gallery wall and they had washi tape in the exact colour to buy in the well curated shop. I think they also had little sample pots of the actual paint, which I wish I had bought now!
This is one of my favourite paintings because it contains the essence of everything Tirzah was brilliant at ~ cats, flowers, nature, the play with scale, atmosphere, wonderment. I feel like I'm in a fairy tale.
Her works are so dense with detail and life and feeling. I loved the ears of corn and wild flowers and the hens scrubbling around. The smell of the warm day, the engine oil, the field, the breeze when it comes was alive to me in this painting! It made me want a crown made of ears of corn for May Day, which is a huge celebration here in Hastings. I also really feel there is something of the Folkloric imbued in her work.
I know I'm using the word LOVE a lot but I really did love this quilt and I found it really moving to think she had sat there in quiet moments happily stitching away, something so resonant for those of us who craft and stitch as a matter of course in our lives. Tirzah was a skilled dressmaker, making clothes for herself and her family and she had a love for unusual and rare fabrics. Every single little piece of fabric was beautiful and the geometric pattern so striking from a distance and then all the details of the little fabric treasures up close. I spent the longest at this piece and want to get on with an idea for a patchwork embellished motif on a dress I'm thinking about making. So inspiring!
Another standout to me was her Scrapbook and this was in a case so you could only see the page that was open. If you go to the Bloomberg Connects App and type in Dulwich Picture Gallery, you can see the scrapbook, and her sketchbook, in it's entirety! So FABULOUS!
There were so many wonderful moments so I shall end with these last magical morsels and hope you find Tirzah truly inspiring and wonderful. Such brilliance in such a short life, I wonder what more she would have done!
Can't you smell the honeysuckle on the warm breeze and here the angry hum of the hornet?
Terribly wonky, I'm afraid, but I did so love the colours and the and had to share, despite the wonk!
This wonderful exhibition is on until the end of November I think, so do go if you can. It's life enhancing in more ways than I can say!
Tara x
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