Ithell
Colquhoun
Pioneer Surrealist Artist, Occultist,Writer,
and Poet
by Eric Ratcliffe
ISBN
978-1869928-98-8
Publisher:
Mandrake of Oxford
300pp / 90 illustrations (25 colour)
Price: £19.99
Format:
Paperback Original
Category:
Art / Surrealism / Biography / Occult
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Ithell
Colquhoun /
Eric Ratcliffe |
The skills of Ithell Colquhoun in her main practice, that of artist and pioneer in this country of surrealistic art, have been long recognised. Additionally, other interests - alchemy, Earth-magic, active occultism, poetry, druidism, the pre-Christian pagan calendar, the history and membership of the Golden Dawn - and writing of and involvement in these interests by book publication and in a widely scattered field of correspondence, have created a miscellany of truly gargantuan proportion.
Eric Ratcliffe considered it was time to get together some of these pieces,
to add something of what is known of Colquhoun's early life and family
history and to take the opportunity of listing a comprehensive calendar
of her work and exhibitions. The result is neither strictly biographical
nor a treatise on any one subject, but it is a first gathering of the
roots, passions and multi-directions of this artist. It is a patchwork
containing many launch-pads for exploration of the magical and mythical
atmosphere which this artist existed in and created. Here therefore is
a contribution towards solving a jigsaw and a wind-catch of the minor
cyclones of lthell's dedicatory interests, also serving as a record of
her accomplishments in the art field.
The Author
Eric Ratcliffe was born in 1918 at Teddington, Middlesex, saw military service in World War 2 as an ammunition examiner in the 'Blitz' in London before a posting to India. His scientific career includes many research papers on thermal conductivity. He founded and edited Ore Magazine, with Brian Louis Pearce as advisory associate.
His credo is opposed to mainstream material poetry and rooted in belief of an after-life. Myth, legend and ancient British history play a large part in his themes.
His poems Anthropos and Fire in the Bush : poems 1955-1992, both published by University of Salzburg Press. Reviewer have said of Fire in the Bush
‘His poetry is a mystical celebration of life, remote and unearthly’- RICHMOND AND TWICKENHAM TIMES
...‘vision in which Elemental presences are more real than so-called reality...it is in the company of Kathleen Raine and Charles Williams that Ratcliffe is to be considered’ - TEARS IN THE FENCE
‘Like the phantom arm that recovered Excalibur from the marsh, Ratcliffe plunges deep into the azure mire of prehistoric and pre-conscious history and surfaces clutching a handful of alchemical gems - chantoyant, crystalline and imperishable’- ABRAXAS
‘The general vision is compulsive...the highly prophetic tone is awesome and apposite to our times’ - IOTA
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