Smith Art Gallery & Museum | Details | The Queen of Heaven (Inanna)

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Actions Displays	The Queen of Heaven (Inanna) Remove from selection Add to selection Reproduction Download mediaDownload as zip file Object number19888 TitleThe Queen of Heaven (Inanna) Creator Patricia Douthwaite, (Artist)‎ DescriptionThe Queen of Heaven (Inanna) was created in 1976 by Pat Douthwaite, a Scottish figurative artist whose work often featured the female body and a fascination with death. In this drawing, the bold solidity of the foreground contrasts with a delicate fragility in the lines of the figure and the marks in the sky. Here, Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, stands reaching out – could that be the door to the next world? Inanna is an ancient Sumerian goddess of both sexual love and warfare. Douthwaite designed sets, costumes and special effects for a theatrical work, Inanna, which was performed in 1975 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. It is possible this drawing was inspired by her work at that time. Pat Douthwaite was born in Glasgow in 1934. A self-taught artist, she studied mime and modern dance with Margaret Morris, founder of the Margaret Morris Movement and Celtic Ballet. Morris was married to Scottish Colourist J D Fergusson, who in turn encouraged Douthwaite in her painting. By 1958 Douthwaite was living with a group of artists in East Anglia, including fellow Scots William Crozier and Robert MacBryde. Douthwaite’s wanderlust saw her travel widely to Europe, North Africa, South America and into Asia. Even when back in Scotland, she restlessly moved from place to place. She struggled between the need for this freedom and for control over her life and her work. Her son remembers his mother working late into the night, painting furiously while listening to jazz. Douthwaite is said to have referred to herself as the “high priestess of the grotesque”, a fitting description of her dedication to her dramatic, expressive work. Production date 1976 Object namePainting, Pastel Drawing Painting MaterialPastel/Paper Dimensions image Height: 630 mm image Width: 475 mm frame Height: 838 mm frame Width: 634 mm

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Download mediaDownload as zip file

Object number19888

TitleThe Queen of Heaven (Inanna)

DescriptionThe Queen of Heaven (Inanna) was created in 1976 by Pat Douthwaite, a Scottish figurative artist whose work often featured the female body and a fascination with death. In this drawing, the bold solidity of the foreground contrasts with a delicate fragility in the lines of the figure and the marks in the sky. Here, Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, stands reaching out – could that be the door to the next world? Inanna is an ancient Sumerian goddess of both sexual love and warfare. Douthwaite designed sets, costumes and special effects for a theatrical work, Inanna, which was performed in 1975 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. It is possible this drawing was inspired by her work at that time. Pat Douthwaite was born in Glasgow in 1934. A self-taught artist, she studied mime and modern dance with Margaret Morris, founder of the Margaret Morris Movement and Celtic Ballet. Morris was married to Scottish Colourist J D Fergusson, who in turn encouraged Douthwaite in her painting. By 1958 Douthwaite was living with a group of artists in East Anglia, including fellow Scots William Crozier and Robert MacBryde. Douthwaite’s wanderlust saw her travel widely to Europe, North Africa, South America and into Asia. Even when back in Scotland, she restlessly moved from place to place. She struggled between the need for this freedom and for control over her life and her work. Her son remembers his mother working late into the night, painting furiously while listening to jazz. Douthwaite is said to have referred to herself as the “high priestess of the grotesque”, a fitting description of her dedication to her dramatic, expressive work.

Production date 1976

Object namePainting, Pastel Drawing

Painting

MaterialPastel/Paper

Dimensions

image Height: 630 mm
image Width: 475 mm
frame Height: 838 mm
frame Width: 634 mm