Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious

19 November 2024 to 26 May 2025 Dulwich Picture Gallery

Tirzah Garwood, Train Journey, 1929, wood engraving. Private collection. Tirzah Garwood,
Etna, 1944, oil on canvas. Images courtesy of Fleece Press.
Tirzah Garwood, Train Journey, 1929, wood engraving. Private collection. Tirzah Garwood, Etna, 1944, oil on canvas. Images courtesy of Fleece Press.

First major exhibition devoted to British artist and designer Tirzah Garwood

Dulwich Picture Gallery welcomes back guest Curator James Russell to present the first major exhibition devoted to British artist and designer Tirzah Garwood (1908 - 1951). Known for her autobiography Long Live Great Bardfield and as the wife of Eric Ravilious (1903 - 1942), Garwood excelled as a fine artist and printmaker. Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious will be the first time the full extent of her output will be shown, giving the artist’s captivating works the critical examination and public showcase they deserve as gems of the mid-20th century. 

The retrospective offers a rare opportunity to view more than eighty of Garwood’s works, including most of her existing oil paintings, almost exclusively from private collections. The exhibition introduces an artist whose creativity flourished in the face of adversity, unveiling Garwood’s ‘sophisticated naïve’ approach that allowed her to infuse apparently innocent or straightforward subjects with deeper meanings. 

Included in the exhibition, ten watercolours by Eric Ravilious will draw out the thematic similarities, shared interests, and distinct artistic personalities of this remarkable creative couple. From their first meeting in 1926, when Garwood began studying wood engraving with Ravilious at Eastbourne School of Art, their creative and personal lives were intertwined.

The exhibition concludes with a series of works created during the final year of Garwood’s life which she described as the ‘happiest year’ of her life. Taking inspiration from the countryside she had always loved, the flowers and insects that fascinated her and the illustrated Victorian children’s books she carried with her, she made a series of small, jewel-like paintings; Springtime of FlightHornet and  Wild Roses, Weewak’s Kitten and The Spanish Lady obliquely address her predicament. These works will fill the last room of the Gallery, a fitting monument to this dynamic, irrepressible artist. 

A full colour catalogue will be released alongside the exhibition, featuring new research, plate images of each work and special essays by Ella Ravilious, Eric and Tirzah’s granddaughter, and writer Jennifer Higgie.

Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious  19 November 2024 – 26 May 2025 

Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, London, SE21 7AD

Opening Times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm (inc. bank holidays).

Further Information: Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious | Dulwich Picture Gallery