This pencil study by Eric Gill shows his daughter Petra when she was 16 years old.

The red chalk on the back of the drawing shows it was this study which was transferred to create the wood engraving The Plait. Gill is famous as an artist and typographer of the Modern movement in Britain. His diaries reveal that he sexually abused his daughters Petra and Elizabeth. Gill lived and worked in Ditchling between 1907 and 1924 and founded his craftworkers’ Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic there. Ditchling Museum’s objective is to collect and display work by Gill and other artists who lived and worked in the village and surrounding communities. The museum aims to present an honest story of Gill’s life and work and these tender portraits of his daughter will be displayed in this often troubling context.

Provenance

Larkhall Fine Art Ltd


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