Meditative flight
1934
Medium
collage of cut cardboard, watercolour, pastel, brush and ink, synthetic polymer paint and cotton (thread)
Measurements
34.4 × 53.5 irreg. (image and sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1976
© The Estate of Eileen Agar
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Despite signing the British Surrealist Group’s inaugural manifesto in 1936, English artist Eileen Agar had an ambivalent attitude towards Surrealism. While the Surrealist emphasis on imaginative freedom appealed to her, she was frustrated by her male peers’ selective definition of liberation. In 1931, alarmed by what she saw as the ‘rampant hysterical militarism’ of the male sensibility, Agar conceived the notion of ‘womb magic’, a feminine form of imagination characterised by unbounded creativity. This idiosyncratic concept informed Agar’s work throughout her career. Meditative flight encapsulates the artist’s guiding philosophy. The ambiguous abstract composition does not convey a clear message. Instead, the organic forms serve as imaginative prompts, inviting the viewer to explore myriad interpretations.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Inscription
inscribed in blue pencil on reverse u.r.: EILEEN AGAR / COLLAGE / 13 ½ x 21 / 1934
Accession Number
P149-1976
Department
International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest