Sylvia Plath’s visual art is celebrated in new exhibition
- Text by Dominique Sisley
A new exhibition showcasing Sylvia Plath’s secret art collection has opened in Washington D.C’s Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The show, titled One Life, offers an insight into the Pulitzer-prize winning poet’s complex creative life – celebrating, for the first time, her natural gift for visual art and imagery.
Plath is most famous for her boundary-breaking literary work; from her savvy coming-of-age novel The Bell Jar to her chilling poetry collection Ariel, written in the months leading up to her suicide. What she’s less known for, though, is her life-long devotion to drawing, painting and the arts.
- Collage by Sylvia Plath. Courtesy Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, © Estate of Sylvia Plath
One Life includes a varied selection Plath’s art. There are politically-charged collages, sketches, water colours, comic strips and a collection of abstract paintings, offering a rare glimpse into the iconic author’s personal life. If that wasn’t enough, the show also displays a number of other personal objects, including “personal letters, self-portraits, and family photographs.”
“Sylvia Plath’s fascination with images and imaging was a strong part of her identity,” says Dorothy Moss, curator of painting and sculpture at the Smithsonian. “The exhibition allows us to see what she described as her ‘visual imagination’ in all its complexity.”
“A War to End Wars” Self-Portraitby Sylvia Plath. Courtesy Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, ©Estate of Sylvia Plath
Self-Portrait in Semi-Abstract Styleby Sylvia Plath. Courtesy Estate of Robert Hittel, ©Estate of Sylvia Plath
“Twas the Night Before Monday”by Sylvia Plath. Courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. © Estate of Sylvia Plath
Triple-Face Portrait by Sylvia Plath. Courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, © Estate of Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath: One Life will be shown at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery until May 20, 2018.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Inside Parkuir: the art project queering sport, space and our bodies
Lie and play — Founded by Maria Laudes and Guiu Gimeno, it provides a framework for engaging, subverting, and celebrating the small details that make people unique – and queer.
Written by: Molly Lipson
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
Tender portraits of women serving life sentences in America
Looking Inside — While working as a public defender attorney in New York State, Sara Bennett found dilapidated prisons and forgotten people. Her new photobook harnesses the power of images and shines a humanising light on those imprisoned for serious crimes and their reintegration into society, while asking questions of the USA’s incarceration system.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Burning rubber with the Middle East’s women rally racers
Ripping dirt — Across the Middle East and North Africa, women are increasingly chasing the thrill of speed, competition and freedom that comes with driving on gruelling terrain, as well as podium positions. Roxana Diba speaks to trailblazers of the scene, who are reshaping ideas of what women are capable of behind the wheel.
Written by: Roxana Diba
Ra’ed Khan and the tireless work of Road to Freedom
Hurriyah — Having been providing frontline aid and support to refugees for over a decade, a new book featuring poetry by Omar Mooro traces the story of the NGO. In this chapter extract, founder and music executive Ra’ed Khan explains its origins.
Written by: Isaac Muk
New exhibition spotlights the ongoing impact of Japanese Women Photographers
1950s to Now — Taking place at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, it showcases work by 27 artists from the past seven decades including Mikiko Hara, Yurie Nagashima and Mao Ishikawa.
Written by: Isaac Muk
