Joyous, curious, inventive and droll, the English artist Tirzah Garwood (1908-51) is as original as she is – so far – almost entirely unknown. If you have never seen any of her works you won’t be alone: the last show took place more than 70 years ago, after her premature death of cancer at 42. Tenderly curated by James Russell, this retrospective at Dulwich Picture Gallery is therefore effectively her first. It is a bright surprise from first to last.
Garwood’s earliest eagle-eyed woodcuts were made when she was a teenager: feathers snowing from bolsters in a bout of spring cleaning; girls in one-piece swimsuits negotiating summer waves; a woman retreating disconsolately to bed for the winter. She began The Four Seasons (1927) at Eastbourne School of Art, aged 18, tutored by Eric Ravilious, who had himself only three years experience of this hardwon medium. The artists would later marry.
