Betty Swanwick's long and varied career encompassed writing novelettes, painting, illustration and design. A true visionary, Swanwick's works are influenced by her own dreams and are highly spiritual. Described by Chris Beetles as a 'watercolourist of mystical symbolism enriched with a strange beauty', Swanwick's pieces use symbolism to convey an understanding of the complexity of life. This type of narrative, visionary work occurred late in the artist's career. Swanwick initially studied at Goldsmiths College of Art, and her first commissions were primarily for murals. Her mural work, such as the piece commissioned for the Rocket restaurant during the Festival of Britain in 1951, contain a sense of joy and fun that would go on to underpin Swanwick's practice for the following decades. The artist herself, however, considered her later narrative pieces to be her best work. Swanwick resigned from her teaching post at Goldsmith’s College, which was prompted by the formalisation of arts education, a change that resulted in what Swanwick described as a 'cultural narrowness'. This refusal to bow to convention is evident throughout Swanwick's career, which consistently valued eccentricity and originality over conformity.
The English pastoral landscapes that recur both in Swanwick's early work and later narrative pieces often act as the setting for myths or Biblical scenes. Pandora (lot 120), a watercolour where the Greek myth is re-imagined in a field of beehives, is a typical example of this. As a result of her use of the English pastoral, many critics have drawn a link between the artist and Stanley Spencer, whose own paintings and drawings, such as the Marriage at Cana series (lots 30 – 33), also placed Biblical events in a contemporary English context. Swanwick repeatedly refuted this link, instead listing Samuel Palmer and William Blake as her key influences. By placing herself within the context of Palmer and Blake, Swanwick was referring to, in her own words, 'a small tradition of English painting that is a bit eccentric, a little odd and a little visionary'. The following collection of works, amassed over several decades, provide a unique insight into this eccentric, odd and visionary work, that conveys life in all its complexity.
For more information and for earlier works see part 1 also.
This is part 2 of a 2-part series on the works of Betty Swanwick.
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| 1980 The Monaghan Shroud watercolour on paper 49 x 52 cm |
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| 1980s Study of the artist's cat Bewick pencil on paper 12 x 17.5 cm |
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| 1981 The Walk to the Paradise Garden pencil & watercolour on paper 43.3 x 40.6 cm |
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| 1981 The Grain of Mustard Seed pencil & watercolour on paper 62.8 x 45.1 cm exhibited in the Royal Academy, London 1982 |
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| 1982 The Right Chair for the Occasion pencil & watercolour on paper 60.5 x 50.2 cm |
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| 1982 Ophelia pencil & watercolour on paper 53 x 46.5 cm |
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| 1982 Feeding the Flocks pencil & watercolour on paper 54.5 x 71.5 cm exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition 1983 |
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| 1984 The Retreat pencil on paper 49.5 x 52.1 cm |
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| 1984 Study for The Key of the Kingdom pencil on paper 54.3 x 21 cm |
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| 1985 The Wine Divine pencil on paper 50.8 x 60.9 cm exhibited in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London 1987 |
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| 1985 Preparatory sketch for The Parliament of the Yard pencil on paper 73 x 34.5 cm exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition, London 1987 |
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| 1985 Feeding the Birds, preliminary study for Parliament of the Yard pencil on paper 56.5 x 29.6 cm |
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| 1987 The Black Shepherd pencil on paper 30 x 71 cm exhibited in the Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition 1988 |
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| 1987 Happy Christmas; for the Celia Hammond Animal Trust 13 x 20 cm |
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| 1989 Leda and the Swan pencil on paper 36.8 x 72.4 cm |
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| Christmas card design for the Celia Hammond Animal Trust pen over pencil 21 x 25 cm |
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| Dan's Journal by Ronald Duncan Front Cover |
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| Dan's Journal |
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| Figure study for a book cover pencil on paper 41.3 x 38.1 cm |
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| Outhouses Blasted by a Storm pencil on paper 26 x 38 cm |
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| Portrait of a lady oil on vanvas 50.8 x 40.6 cm |
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| Portrait of a lady oil on canvas 55.8 x 45.7 cm |
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| Preparatory sketch for The Key of the Kingdom pencil on paper 64.5 x 21 cm |
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| Rodney Village Flower Show watercolour and gouache over pencil on buff paper 50.9 x 69.9 cm |
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| Seated Woman pencil on paper 44.5 x 30.5 cm |
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| Safety First! colour lithograph poster for the Ministry of Transport gouache over pencil 97.5 x 59 cm |
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| Sketch for "The Divestyre of the Dreamer of Dreams" pencil on paper 51 x 69 cm |
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| Sketch for "The Folly" pencil on paper 47.5 x 55.5 cm |
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| Still Life oil on canvas 40.6 x 50.8 cm |
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| Swans pastel and charcoal on paper 26 x 34.5 cm |
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| The miracle of the loaves and fishes pencil on paper 55 x 41,5 cm |
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| The Mercat Dream watercolour, pencil and gouache on paper 23 x 32 cm |
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| The Gardeners gouache over pencil 64 x 105.5 cm |
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| sketch for The Reawakening pencil on paper 52 x 74cm |
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| Study for The River pencil & watercolour on paper 48.3 x 50.8 cm |
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| The Sightless Man pencil & watercolour on paper 50 x 38 cm |
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| Women preparing for a banquet watercolour 64 x 50 cm |
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| Untitled pencil on paper 45.7 x 48.3 cm |
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| The Fancy Hat gouache on paper 27 x 31 cm |
