Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship

Fabulous exhibition at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne looking at the life and work of Eric Ravilious and the group of friends who grew up around him

As the title of show suggests this was as much a show about friendship and loyalty as art although there were some fantastic pictures. The first room was a bit confusing as you seemed to be thrown into the middle of a group of people and ideas but it was enticing and got you asking questions which were then answered in subsequent rooms.

I loved the section on Ravilious’s student years and the people he met at the Royal College of Art many of whom stayed with him throughout his life like Edward Bawden and Enid Marx. Other characters had fascinating stories such as Percy Horton who married Lydia Smith a suffrage who had been the fiancé of his best friend and fellow conscientious objector who died in prison.

There was a charming section on life in a shared house in London with lovely portraits of many of the characters by Phyllis Dodd. Ravilious met his wife Tirzah Garwood at this time and I loved her woodcuts which take an affectionate look at everyday life.

There were nice sections on the murals for Morley College done by Ravlious and Bawden in the 1930s and a fantastic display on the groups work on book covers and end papers displayed in a mock bookshop. The whole exhibition blended fine art and design work seamlessly and gave it equal weight.

You got very pulled into the story and started to care about the people to the point that when a girl called Diana Low came along and the commentary read that she was a “signification test of his (Ravilious’s) fidelity to Tirzah, one which he failed” you wanted to go back in time and slap him! An oddly visceral response in an exhibition!

I loved the later rooms on the Second World War but you could feel the tragedy coming and when it did it was very moving. It wasn’t just the death of Ravilious but some of the reactions and events around it. I won’t give it all away but suffice to say I shed a tear.

Closes on 17 September 2017

 

Comments

John said…
Loved it too! Must research any Bloomsbury connection....
28 August, 2017
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