Create your own Surrealist-inspired portrait

 

This unusual surrealist portrait was painted in 1980 by Eileen Agar (1899 – 1991). Agar has used a variety of different shapes to create a representation of ‘Miss Terry’ – possibly Dame Ellen Terry, a famous Shakespearean actress during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Surrealist art seeks to express the workings of the subconscious mind, often creating dreamlike, fantastical, and sometimes bizarre imagery.

 

Activity – create your own portrait using shapes

 

If you loved this object and want to know more, why not explore it in more depth? 

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Hands on History

The object is from The Mercer Gallery. Why not pay them a visit? 

 

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