The Saga of Ithell Colquhoun

David Redfern LG investigates.

At Tate St Ives, open now until the 5th May, there is the first major exhibition of visionary artist Ithell Colquhoun. This from Tate St Ives’s website, “One of the most radical artists of her generation, Ithell Colquhoun was an important figure in British Surrealism during the 1930s and 1940s. An innovative writer and practicing occultist, Colquhoun charted her own course, investigating surrealist methods of unconscious picture-making and fearlessly delving into the realms of myth and magic.” Despite not being able to look into the future myself, I was not surprised when our secretary Anna forwarded an email to me from a well-known London salesroom asking for some information, on the back of this Tate show, about a painting of Colquhoun’s which they had for sale. The painting had a label on the reverse printed with “The London Group 1947 Exhibition, RBA Galleries, Suffolk Street, London SW1”. Coincidentally, Suffolk Street is the next street west of Whitcomb Street where the Group recently held its 2025 Annual in the Royal Watercolour Society’s beautiful gallery. The salesroom asked if I could confirm that Colquhoun’s painting was shown in the 1947 exhibition, as this would add to the work’s provenance and value. I dutifully consulted the 1947 exhibition catalogue held in The London Group Archive and found no mention of said painting, nor any record of her exhibiting between 1945 and 1949, two years either side, just in case. My contact at the salesroom was disappointed. The label was quite clear, and yet there’s no official record of the work being exhibited by the prestigious London Group. What’s going on?

As archivist to the Group, these are the brain-teasers I enjoy, so I thought I would share the conundrum with you. No answers on a postcard please as it probably wouldn’t get here anyway, but what could be a possible explanation? Please see “Mystery solved” at the end of this Newsletter.

David Redfern LG, 2025