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Iris Murdoch artworks from secret room go on display
Second world war paintings and sketches show novelist ‘engaging with her world in a new light’
TL;DR
- Over 80 previously unknown artworks by Iris Murdoch were discovered in a secret room in her attic.
- The collection includes the only known self-portrait by the author, four surrealist landscape paintings, and sketches of female nudes.
- These artworks date from the early World War II period when Murdoch was a student at Oxford.
- The discovery was made by Dr. Miles Leeson, director of the Iris Murdoch Research Centre, at Murdoch's former home.
- The exhibition, 'Iris Murdoch Amongst the Artists,' features 25 of these newly discovered works, alongside art from designers of her book covers.
- The surrealist paintings reflect the despair and anxiety of the war and European culture's breakdown.
- The nude sketches reveal Murdoch's fascination with the female form and her bisexuality.
- Art experts believe these paintings offer a new perspective on Murdoch's artistic development and her philosophical insights.