Acquisitions

ARTIST ROOMS: The d'Offay Donation

Francesca Woodman (1958–1981)

One room comprising 18 rare vintage black-and-white photographs, the collection once owned by the artist’s boyfriend.

Woodman’s photographs exhibit the influence of surrealism and have a timeless quality that is ethereal and unique. Many of her self-portraits present her in otherwise deserted interior spaces, where her body almost merges with its surroundings, covered by sections of peeling wallpaper, half hidden behind the flat plane of a door, or crouching over a mirror. Often using slow exposures that blur her moving figure into a ghostly presence, Woodman seems to combine performance with self-exposure, suggesting the exploration of extreme psychological states.

Eel Series, Roma, May 1977 – August 1978 1977–1978
Photograph on paper
Image: 219 x 219 mm
Support: 356 x 279 mm
© George & Betty Woodman