The Lost Paintings of Evelyn De Morgan
1st February – 20th April 2013
This remarkable exhibition will display sketches, studies and photographs of a number of Evelyn De Morgan’s
paintings lost in a 1991 art store fire. The Lost Paintings of Evelyn De Morgan will run from 1st February
to 20th April 2013.
In October 1991 a fire ravaged the Bourlet’s art storage unit where much of the De Morgan Foundation’s art
collection was stored. In one night more than 15 paintings by Evelyn De Morgan and many other artworks were
tragically destroyed – lost for future generations to admire. This exhibition will display drawings and studies for
these lost paintings, alongside colour photographs taken during the preceding years in the art store, giving an
unprecedented opportunity to discover more about these extraordinary works of art.
Evelyn De Morgan is renowned for her oil paintings which are abundant with Pre-Raphaelite imagery,
spiritualist symbolism and strong feminist undertones, but she also exhibited remarkable skills in drawing. The
De Morgan Centre’s collections contain a significant number of Evelyn’s drawings and pastel studies for her
paintings, which give a fascinating insight into her creative process.
This exhibition focuses on a small group of rarely seen studies by Evelyn De Morgan which demonstrate her
working process – from loose compositional sketches, to detailed anatomical studies (often of both clothed and
naked forms in the same pose) and refined and accurate pastel studies for the final work.
Evelyn drew from life using a small pool of models including her maid Jane Hales, family members and
professional models. Recurring faces are familiar presences in Evelyn’s work, as demonstrated by two studies of
male heads for St Christina Giving her Father’s Jewels to the Poor and The Marriage of St. Francis and the Holy Poverty,
which are of the same Italian model. Whilst often intended as studies for large scale thematic paintings, De
Morgan’s works on paper also portray a sense of the intimate and familial scale of the artist’s world; delicately
executed studies of hands holding props from the artist’s studio for St. Christina Giving her Father’s Jewels to the Poor
being a case in point.
Curator Claire Longworth states, ‘The devastating loss of so many of Evelyn De Morgan’s paintings was a
blow not only for the De Morgan Foundation, but the Art World in general. This exhibition presents an
unmissable opportunity to experience these lost works of art and learn more about Evelyn’s artistic
methods.’
ENDS
Notes for editors:
The De Morgan Centre
38 West Hill
London
SW18 1RX
T: 020 8871 1144
www.demorgan.org.uk
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday 1pm – 5pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm
Late opening: First Thursday of every month 1pm – 9pm
Admission charges:
Adults £4
Children free
Art Fund Members free
For further information, or to receive an image caption sheet, please contact [email protected]
De Morgan Centre
The De Morgan Centre is a museum and gallery in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England, that houses a
large collection of the work of the Victorian ceramic artist William De Morgan and his wife, the painter Evelyn
De Morgan. The De Morgans were important figures in the Arts and Craft Movement and were also involved in
the social issues of the day such as women's suffrage and education.
The collection was formed by Evelyn De Morgan's sister, Mrs Wilhelmina Stirling, who wrote several books
under the name A.M.W. Stirling. It had previously been on display at her home, Old Battersea House. In the
years following her death in 1965, parts of the collection were displayed at a number of locations including
Cardiff Castle, Cragside in Northumberland and Knightshayes Court in Devon, all of which have interiors from
the years when the De Morgans were active.
In 2002, the collection was rehoused at the former West Hill Reference Library in Wandsworth, in south west
London, which dates from 1887. Threatened with the termination of its lease, the Centre closed to the public in
2009. However, it was given the opportunity to stay in Wandsworth, and reopened in September 2011. The De
Morgan Centre is open to the public five days a week.
Evelyn De Morgan
Evelyn De Morgan (née Pickering) 1855-1919, was a successful and prolific artist. She showed a flair for and a
dedication to art from an early age. In 1873, Evelyn enrolled at the newly established Slade School of Art
(becoming one of the first three women to do so). In these formative years Evelyn also travelled extensively
through France and Italy, unaccompanied, to visit her uncle, the artist John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope. The
influence of Botticelli and his contemporaries is apparent in the style of many of Evelyn's paintings.
Evelyn was one of the first exhibitors at the Grosvenor Gallery, the avant-garde alternative to the Royal
Academy, where she exhibited alongside work by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, George Frederick Watts and Sir
Lawrence Alma Tadema. Watts described her as “the greatest woman painter of today and possibly of all time.”
She was a fine draughtswoman and her drawings are often mistaken for those of her contemporaries Lord
Leighton and Burne-Jones.
In 1887 Evelyn and William De Morgan married. While each continued to practise their own work, they jointly
became interested in and involved with many of the social issues of their day.
De Morgan Centre 2013 exhibition schedule
1st May – 29th June 2013
Mrs Stirling and Old Battersea House
Mrs Stirling was the younger sister of Evelyn De Morgan. She lived at Old Battersea House in Battersea, and
over her lifetime assembled a substantial art collection that featured the works of William and Evelyn De
Morgan. When she died shortly before her hundredth birthday in 1965, she bequeathed her collection to be
looked after in trust for perpetuity.
This exhibition celebrates this intriguing and eccentric personality of Mrs Stirling, and will display examples of
Mrs Stirling’s writing and novels, photographs of Old Battersea House and its interior along with examples of
some of the furniture and art work which she amassed, including much loved examples of the De Morgans’ art
work.
5th July – 31st August 2013
Contemporary Ceramics: Sasha Wardell and Joanna Veevers
Sasha Wardell and Joanna Veevers are both established and internationally acclaimed ceramicists, known for
pushing the boundaries of techniques in bone china and porcelain work respectively. This selling exhibition will
feature vases, ceramic jewellery, tiles, framed wall pieces and works on paper.
11th September – 9th November 2013
Contemporary Glass: Teepee Group
The Teepee Group is a collective of Central St Martins alumni with a wide range of skills and experience in glass
design and glass art. This exhibition will feature a selection of De Morgan-inspired glass and other pieces from
this skilled art collective.
20th November 2013 – 18th January 2014
Christmas Show
The Centre’s ever-popular Christmas show will return with a range of works available for sale from
contemporary craftspeople.
February – April 2014 (Dates TBC)
The Lost Paintings of Evelyn De Morgan Part 2
This exhibition will explore sketches and studies for further paintings lost in the Bourlet’s art store fire in 1991,
including Love’s Piping, The Spear of Ithuriel and The Angel of Death.
Please contact [email protected] for more information on upcoming exhibitions.