“Art is eternal, but life is short,” wrote Mary Evelyn Pickering in 1872, on her 17th birthday. “I will make up for it now, I have not a moment to lose.” For an artist, one way to maximize moments is to make a match with an understanding fellow artist. At 34, Pickering married the ceramicist William De Morgan and became Evelyn De Morgan. Until W.W. I, the couple lived half the year in London, the other half in Florence. This exhibition looks at the gorgeous art the couple created, each working in their own medium. William made decorative tiles, bowls, and vases that took inspiration from Turkish ceramics of the 16th century. They are gems of the Arts and Crafts movement. Evelyn’s paintings honored the Italian Renaissance, but through a Pre-Raphaelite prism; her color palette is sometimes psychedelic (the hippies loved the Pre-Raphaelites). The show is captivating. And the two videos on the gallery website are wonderful as well. —L.J.
The Arts Intel Report
Evelyn and William De Morgan
When
Aug 10 – Sept 26, 2020
Where
Evelyn De Morgan, “S.O.S,” 1914 © De Morgan Collection, courtesy of the De Morgan Foundation.