Helen Saunders: Modernist Rebel

Interesting exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of work by Helen Saunders, one of the two female members of the Vorticists.

I had not come across Saunders work before but loved it. The commentary said she was on the edge of the Bloomsbury Group despite being a Vorticist and I could see similarities to their early and later work. I was interested to see a large collection of her work had been left to the Courtauld by a relative and fellow artist, Brigid Beppin.

I loved a portrait of her friend Blanche Caudwell done in an almost Cubist style and making her look like a sculpture made of felt sewn together. I also liked a Vorticist picture of a man being shot from the barrel of a rifle. The show also included some post war pictures of lovely French rural scenes around L’Estaque.

Closed on 29 January 2023


 

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