About this artwork
Adnams was particularly influenced by the surrealist artists Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Paul Nash. This painting shows the influence of Dalí in the delicate application of the paint. Painted in the aftermath of World War II, the artist alludes to the unfathomable amount of death and destruction that the conflict brought in the skull and barbed wire. Set at the English seaside, Adnams has included a ribbon tied in a bow around the animal skull, suggesting it is a gift or a sacrifice, perhaps for the freedom of Britain’s shores. However, skulls and barbed wire were also standard surrealist motifs and their inclusion may purely be Admans’ exploration of peculiar objects juxtaposed in unrelated environments.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Marion Adnams (1898 - 1995) British
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title:Aftermath
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date created:1946
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materials:Oil on panel
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measurements:32.30 x 23.10 cm; Framed: 42.50 x 33.60 x 6.80 cm; 3.00 kg
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 2006
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accession number:GMA 4815
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Marion Adnams
Marion Adnams
Adnams was born in Derby and lived and worked there for most of her life. She remains a little-known figure, never joining any of the British surrealist groups, rarely featuring in the press, and exhibiting mainly in the Midlands. She trained as a modern languages teacher but in the 1930s took...