GILL, Madge.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Two large drawings on a single sheet. A characteristic example of Gill's spiritual outsider art, a rare double-sided work exhibited at her first major retrospective in Grosvenor Gallery in 1968. We believe this piece to be number 130, "Complex Forms", in the exhibition list. The pencil drawing contains a woman's face, a signature motif in Gill's art, and the ink drawing shows naturalistic geometric patterns. Gill (1882-1961) was a key exponent of mediumistic art and remains one of the foremost British Outsider artists. She first became compelled to produce art in 1920 and shortly after was first "possessed" by her spirit-guide, Myrninerest. Over the next three decades, she produced a vast amount of art on cloth, card, and paper. Her work was exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery between 1932 and 1947, and was widely acclaimed. However, she rejected an offer of a show in a larger West End gallery, stating that her art belonged to her spirit guide and could not be sold. After her death, the Grosvenor Gallery held a large exhibition of her work focussed on her ink and wash drawings, titled Madge Gill: The Guided Hand. Gill's artwork is in the original frame provided by the Grosvenor Gallery, and is accompanied by a guide to the exhibition and a typewritten exhibition list.Gill never received any formal artistic training, and produced her work in a trance-like state, possibly influenced by synaesthetic experiences. The pencil drawing is reminiscent of Girl in High Hat and Milliner

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