The Guardian's passing reference to Mervyn Peake caught my eye: by a strange coincidence, Peake did a brush portrait of Ithell Colquhoun in 1939. It was reproduced (with her name mis-spelled as "Ethill") in volume 4, issue iv, of Peake Studies for Spring 1996 (and copies are still available; see the Peake Studies website, linked to my signature). Another coincidence is that (as well as publishing Anna Kavan) Peter Owen is Peake's main publisher and has just brought out Mervyn Peake: the man and his art in paperback.
Thanks Peter. I'll check out Peake Studies and The Man and His Art. (I'm surprised anyone has spelled her name correctly, ever.)
Peter Owen can be partially credited/blamed for shaping the mindset which led to the creation of this blog.
Craig Brownlie just sent three paragraphs about Colquhoun which I'll be adding to the main post today (probably deleting the quotes from his first emails).
There is a book of Ithell's magical writings, compiled by Steve Nichols, which includes handwritten and hand-typed notes and diagrams, available for download on lulu.com. Title is "The Magical Writings of Ithell Colquhoun"
All right, something I'll have to look for when I get a moment... since I've always liked her paintings and the comparisons to Anna Kavan and Walter de la Mare are intriguing.
The Guardian's passing reference to Mervyn Peake caught my eye: by a strange coincidence, Peake did a brush portrait of Ithell Colquhoun in 1939. It was reproduced (with her name mis-spelled as "Ethill") in volume 4, issue iv, of Peake Studies for Spring 1996 (and copies are still available; see the Peake Studies website, linked to my signature).
ReplyDeleteAnother coincidence is that (as well as publishing Anna Kavan) Peter Owen is Peake's main publisher and has just brought out Mervyn Peake: the man and his art in paperback.
Thanks Peter. I'll check out Peake Studies and The Man and His Art. (I'm surprised anyone has spelled her name correctly, ever.)
ReplyDeletePeter Owen can be partially credited/blamed for shaping the mindset which led to the creation of this blog.
Craig Brownlie just sent three paragraphs about Colquhoun which I'll be adding to the main post today (probably deleting the quotes from his first emails).
There is a book of Ithell's magical writings, compiled by Steve Nichols, which includes handwritten and hand-typed notes and diagrams, available for download on lulu.com. Title is "The Magical Writings of Ithell Colquhoun"
ReplyDeleteNice posting and scans!
Thanks Max, I'll add that to the main post when I have a chance.
ReplyDeleteAll right, something I'll have to look for when I get a moment... since I've always liked her paintings and the comparisons to Anna Kavan and Walter de la Mare are intriguing.
ReplyDelete