Visions of the Occult: An Untold Story of Art & Magic

A major survey of the occult collection of artworks, letters, objects, and ephemera in the Tate Archive and collection, revealing over 150 esoteric and mystical pieces. This book explores the hidden artworks and ephemera left behind by artists, shedding new light on our understanding of the art historical canon. It offers an in-depth exploration of the occult and its relationship to art and culture, including witchcraft, alchemy, secret societies, folklore, pagan rituals, demonology, spells and magic, psychic energies, astrology, and tarot.

Format: Hardback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 12 September 2022
Publisher: Tate Publishing

The Tate Archive and Collection's occult collection of works of art, letters, artifacts, and ephemera is the subject of the first significant study. This book, which contains more than 150 esoteric and mystical items, including some that have never been seen before, offers a fresh perspective on the Tate collection's artists and the history and practice of the occult. A lavishly illustrated magical book that serves as a potent talisman linking the two worlds of Tate—the visible public collection and the hidden mysteries lurking in the archive—is the pages of this book. The occult and its relationship to art and culture, including witchcraft, alchemy, secret societies, folklore, pagan rituals, demonology, spells and magic, psychic energies, astrology, and tarot, are explored in depth in this book.

The works and lives of artists like Ithell Colquhoun, Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth, Cecil Collins, John William Waterhouse, Alan Davie, Joe Tilson, Henry Moore, Eileen Agar, William Blake, Leonora Carrington, and Pamela Colman Smith are explored in-depth in this book.

For the first time, archivist Victoria Jenkins explores the connections between art and the occult, as well as how both can serve as a form of resistance to challenging environments, in this book. It questions preconceptions and sheds light on the surprising breadth and extraordinary ways in which artists interpret not just the physical world around them, but also the supernatural, to make the unseen visible.

If you think you know Tate artists, it's time to think again.

Dimension: 246 x 189 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781849767620