A bold drawing in thick black graphite and ink, on a slightly aged paper. At the bottom, linear forms slightly resemble human forms, and they surround a circular post-like form in the centre of the sheet. On the top half, building-like forms sit atop the black background, with sharp lines of black and white dotting the background.
Helen Saunders (1885-1963), Vorticist Composition with Figures, Black and White, 1915 © Estate of Helen Saunders

Vorticist Composition with Figures, Black and White

Helen Saunders

Among the first British artists to work in a non-figurative style, Helen Saunders was one of only two women members of the Vorticists, a radical but short-lived London-based modern art 51²è¹Ý¶ù (1914-15) influenced by Cubism.ÌýÌý

This bold, hard-edged composition, with its sharp geometric forms and dramatic contrasts of black and white, reflects ³Õ´Ç°ù³Ù¾±³¦¾±²õ³¾51²è¹Ý¶ù decisive break with the art of the past. Also characteristic is the structuring of the composition to draw the viewer51²è¹Ý¶ù eye to the centre of the sheet. The forms in the lower half of the drawing suggest human figures at the mercy of a colossal machine, undoubtedly reflecting the events of the First World War.ÌýÌý

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