Eileen Agar

Eileen Agar was one of the most important female artists associated with British Surrealism and a pioneering figure in the development of modernist painting, collage and assemblage in Britain. Working across painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and mixed media, she developed an imaginative and highly individual visual language that combined abstraction, mythology, natural forms and unexpected juxtapositions of everyday objects. Her work is characterised by its playful inventiveness, vibrant colour and fascination with the relationship between nature, chance and the subconscious. Although she was initially overshadowed by some of her male contemporaries, Agar is now recognised as a central figure in the British Surrealist movement and one of the most distinctive women artists of the twentieth century.

Born Eileen Forrester Agar on 1 December 1899 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was the daughter of a Scottish father and an American mother. Her family was financially comfortable, and she spent her early childhood in Argentina before moving to England in 1911. She was educated at Heathfield School in Ascot and subsequently attended the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. From an early age she demonstrated a strong interest in art and literature, although her family initially expected her to pursue a more conventional path.

Agar's artistic education continued at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where she studied between 1921 and 1924. The Slade provided an important introduction to modern European art and exposed her to the work of artists exploring abstraction, Cubism and new approaches to representation. Among her contemporaries were Ben Nicholson, Paul Nash and Henry Moore. Her experience at the Slade helped establish her commitment to an independent artistic career and encouraged her to move beyond conventional academic painting.

Following her studies, Agar travelled extensively in Europe, particularly in France, where she encountered the developing Surrealist movement. She was particularly attracted to the work of Joan Miró, Jean Arp and Max Ernst, whose experimental approaches to imagery, abstraction and chance had a profound influence on her development. She also became interested in the writings of the Surrealists, particularly their exploration of dreams, the unconscious and the unexpected associations between seemingly unrelated objects.

In 1929 Agar moved to Paris with Joseph Bard, a Hungarian writer whom she later married in 1940. Paris was a formative experience, bringing her into contact with leading figures of the European avant-garde, including André Breton, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuși, Man Ray and Ezra Pound. She also developed friendships with British artists Paul Nash and Roland Penrose, and photographer Lee Miller. These relationships helped establish her position within an international network of Surrealist artists, writers and photographers.

During the early 1930s Agar developed a distinctive approach to painting and collage, combining organic forms, abstract geometry and unexpected visual associations. Her painting Autobiography of an Embryo (1933–34) is among her most significant early works. The composition explores the relationship between human development, sexuality, nature and the subconscious, using abstract forms and biomorphic shapes to suggest the processes of growth and transformation. It demonstrates her interest in combining personal experience with universal themes and reveals the influence of Surrealism without simply adopting its established visual conventions.

Agar held her first solo exhibition at the Bloomsbury Gallery in London in 1933 and became associated with the London Group in 1934. Her work increasingly incorporated collage, found objects and photographic imagery. She was particularly fascinated by the possibilities of chance encounters between unrelated materials, believing that unexpected combinations could reveal new meanings and associations. This approach became central to her mature artistic practice.

In 1936 Agar achieved considerable recognition when she was invited to participate in the landmark International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries in London. Organised by Roland Penrose and Herbert Read, the exhibition brought together leading international Surrealists, including Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Max Ernst. Agar was the only professional British woman artist included in the exhibition, showing three paintings and five objects. Her participation established her as an important figure within British Surrealism and represented a significant achievement for women artists working within the movement.

Among her most celebrated works from this period was Angel of Anarchy (1936–40), a sculptural assemblage created using a plaster head covered with fabric, feathers and other materials. The work combines beauty, mystery and psychological ambiguity, transforming a conventional portrait bust into an extraordinary Surrealist object. Its concealed facial features and richly textured surface suggest the instability of identity and the imaginative possibilities of disguise. It remains one of the defining sculptures of British Surrealism.

Another particularly memorable creation was Ceremonial Hat for Eating Bouillabaisse (1937), an extraordinary wearable assemblage incorporating a cork bowl, shells, coral, fishbone and other marine objects. Inspired by her fascination with the sea and the natural world, the hat demonstrates Agar's characteristic humour and willingness to blur the boundaries between art, fashion and everyday life. She also produced Glove Hat (1938), another playful construction that transformed familiar accessories into Surrealist objects. These works anticipated later developments in assemblage, wearable art and conceptual sculpture.

Agar's relationship with nature was particularly important throughout her career. She frequently collected shells, stones, fossils, driftwood and other natural objects, seeing them as sources of mysterious and unexpected visual associations. Her photographs often focused on unusual rock formations and organic structures that appeared almost human or animal-like. The photograph Bum-Thumb Rock (1936), taken in Brittany, exemplifies this interest in discovering surreal imagery within the natural landscape. She believed that nature itself possessed an imaginative language that artists could reveal through careful observation and experimentation.

In 1937 Agar spent time in Cornwall with a group of Surrealist artists and writers at Lambe Creek, near Falmouth. The gathering included Lee Miller, Roland Penrose, Max Ernst, Paul Éluard and Nusch Éluard. This extraordinary meeting of international artists became an important episode in the history of British Surrealism, strengthening Agar's connections with the movement and providing an environment for artistic exchange.

During the Second World War, Agar continued to paint and experiment with collage, although the conflict disrupted many of her artistic activities. Works such as Parcel Post (1942) demonstrate her ability to transform everyday materials into imaginative compositions, incorporating packaging, string, printed matter and found objects. Following the war, she returned increasingly to painting, exploring automatism, abstraction and more spontaneous approaches to composition. Her later work became increasingly colourful and fluid, often combining organic shapes, gestural marks and references to natural phenomena.

Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Agar continued exhibiting regularly, particularly at the Redfern Gallery, London. Her work evolved considerably, moving between figurative Surrealism, abstraction and experimental collage. She remained committed to artistic independence and resisted being confined to a single movement or style. Her autobiography, A Look at My Life, published in 1988, provided an important account of her artistic development and her experiences within the international Surrealist movement.

Recognition of Agar's contribution increased considerably during the later decades of her life. In 1987 she held a retrospective exhibition at Birch and Conran Fine Art in London, and in 1990 she was elected a Royal Academician. She died in London on 17 November 1991, aged 91.

Her reputation has continued to grow since her death. In 1999 the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art organised a retrospective exhibition, which subsequently travelled to Leeds City Art Gallery. In 2008 Pallant House Gallery in Chichester presented a major exhibition of her work, followed by Natural Ready-mades at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds in 2015. More recently, Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy was presented at the Whitechapel Gallery in London and Mjellby Art Museum in Sweden in 2021, before travelling to Leeds Art Gallery in 2022.

Her work is represented in important public collections including Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the Arts Council Collection, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Government Art Collection, the Courtauld Gallery and Pallant House Gallery. Internationally, her work is also held by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand.

Today, Eileen Agar is recognised as one of the most significant British Surrealists and an important pioneer of collage and assemblage. Her extraordinary imagination, playful treatment of materials and fascination with the natural world distinguished her from many of her contemporaries. Her work challenged conventional ideas about artistic representation, gender and the relationship between art and everyday life. Although she remained somewhat independent of the formal Surrealist movement, her contribution to its development in Britain was considerable. Her paintings, photographs and sculptural objects continue to demonstrate the enduring possibilities of experimentation, humour and imaginative freedom.