An Evening in Conversation - Madge Gill: The Arcana Drawings

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On Thursday 23 July Sworders London Gallery was brimming with keen admirers of, and those just coming into contact with, the wonderful works of Madge Gill. An interesting talk was kindly presented by Vivienne Roberts: curator, art historian specialising in enigmatic art, and leading expert on Madge Gill.

Vivienne is the former curator and archivist at The College of Psychic Studies in London. Here she spent nine years as the steward of their vast collection of spiritualist and mystic art and objects. This incredible collection and the College’s esoteric library provided Vivienne with an abundance of primary sources and material that inspired her to put together a series of comprehensive exhibitions, including: Things Among Us (2021) and Creative Spirits (2022). Vivienne has carved out her specialism in the history of mediumistic art, with an emphasis on its female practitioners. In 1999 the art of Madge Gill was brought to her attention by art historian, Roger Cardinal, and since then Vivienne has worked tirelessly at promoting the work of this brilliant artist. Vivienne established madgegill.com, and in 2019 published her research on Madge Gill in a special edition of the College of Psychic Studies’ magazine, Light.

Madge Gill was almost 40 when she first experienced an uncontrollable urge to make artworks through the hidden guidance being projected to her from the spirit world. This urge would go on to take over the rest of her life as she developed a vast and deeply personal visual language through automatic drawing, spiritualist belief and extraordinary artistic instinct. It was wonderful to hear Vivienne speak with such passion and knowledge about Gill and the often turbulent life she led. Sworders London would like to thank Vivienne Roberts for her fascinating talk on the life and works of the artist.

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