Christmas Lecture - Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious

This time last year the exhibition Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious opened at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Long overshadowed by her more famous husband Eric Ravilious (1903-42), the exhibition revealed Tirzah Garwood to be a multi-talented painter, printmaker and author whose work is characterised by wit, clarity and an extraordinary imagination.

In this celebratory lecture curator James Russell explores Garwood's remarkable achievements in the context of her life and of her fascinating artistic and personal relationship with Ravilious. The lecture will include new insights gained during the run on the show, alongside artworks and other material that didn't make it into the exhibition!

A witty observer of the human condition, the youthful Garwood became established as a wood engraver of rare ability. After marrying Ravilious and becoming a devoted mother to three children, she took up paper marbling, quickly achieving renown for the dazzling originality of her decorative papers. In her early 30s she suffered the double blow of a grave breast cancer diagnosis and her husband's death on active service in World War 2. Undaunted, she remarried and took up oil painting, producing in a few short years a series of strange, beautiful paintings. When her cancer returned she continued to work, facing terminal illness with an indomitable spirit.

The lecture will last approximately an hour, but may go on a bit longer. A link to a recording of the lecture will be sent to all ticket holders after the lecture. The recording will be available until 2 January 2026.

10% of the proceeds from the lecture will be given to the International Red Cross.