Surrealism, mysticism and the occult: Ithell Colquhoun’s journey toward ‘Taro as Colour’

A once overlooked pioneer of Surrealism, Ithell Colquhoun has gained greater appreciation in recent years following Tate’s 2019 acquisition of her archives and artworks, which has led to extensive research into the life and work of the artist and praise by art lovers.

After studying at Cheltenham School of Art (1928) and Slade School of Fine Art, Ithell moved to Paris in 1931 to attend the Académie Colarossi. During her time in the vibrant city, she was introduced to Surrealism by the author of its manifesto, André Breton. Employing Surrealist methods, Colquhoun’s work is unique for its imagery and meaning, which found inspiration in her explorations of mysticism.

Though it was her connections to the occult, and refusal to relinquish her interest in it, that led to her ultimate expulsion from the Surrealist movement in the 1940s, it was her combination of surrealist automatism, mysticism, nature and myth, that created her enchanting and raw oeuvre of feminine expression and spiritual exploration.

A notable work by Colquhoun, Scylla, 1938, offers an intimate self-portrait, where rock formations take the form of her thighs, coral her pubic hair, and the ocean her bathwater.

Colquhoun moved to the remote village of Paul, West Cornwall in 1958. Steeped in mysticism, the region offered boundless inspiration for her painting practice, short stories and poetry.

In 1977, Colquehoun exhibited her interpretation of the Tarot Deck at Newlyn Gallery in Cornwall, displayed modestly grouped together in five large frames. The deck was composed of seventy-eight cards, divided into the four suits of fourteen cards (ace to ten, plus four court cards), together with the twenty-two trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. Using enamel inks, Ithell combined the colours (and their meaning) of the Golden Dawn Tarot with Surrealist morphology to create a deck that reimagines the forces behind each card in the form of pure colour.