Georgiana Houghton abstract expressionist artist

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In: 19th Century Women, Artists, Spiritualism

Georgiana Houghton (1814-84) is credited with being the first abstract expressionist. A well-educated middle-class British woman, she devoted her life to spiritualism and hypnotism. One of her practices was to create spirit paintings using watercolor and pen and ink. On the back, using automatic writing, she wrote the symbolic meaning and attributions to her spirit guides who represented famous artists. For example, “The Eye of God” was attributed to Italian Renaissance artist Correggio who “endeavored through Georgiana’s hand, to represent The Eye of God, in the Three Persons of the Trinity.” In 1871, Houghton was encouraged to put on an exhibition of her works. ImpoverishingRead More →