Dorothy Morland: making ICA history

Massey, Anne (2020) Dorothy Morland: making ICA history. Value: Art: Politics, 16 . Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. ISBN 9781789621273 (In Press)

Creators:
Massey, Anne
Description/Abstract:

This is the first, full-length biography of Dorothy Morland (1906-1999) who remains the only female Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. The book traces her busy private and public life throughout the 1930s up until the 1990s. It is based on unpublished letters and other archival sources, as well as interviews and personal recollections. It tells the story of one of the unacknowledged contributors to the success of the ICA and to the understanding of the international avant garde in post-war Britain. As an arts administrator and a woman, Dorothy Morland’s contribution has been largely overlooked and this book aims to highlight her significant contribution to the public understanding of modernism. She was part of a network which included the Surrealist Roland Penrose, art critic Herbert Read, architect Jane Drew and wealthy philanthropists, Peter Gregory and Peter Watson. She was also the protector and advocate for the Independent Group. Dorothy Morland always mixed business with pleasure and danced with Picasso in Antibes whilst there on ICA business and tirelessly organised the chaotic organisation that was the ICA in Dover Street from 1950 until 1968. After leaving the ICA she worked hard on assembling the organisation’s archives and securing their safekeeping at Tate.

Item Type:
Book
Date:
31 March 2020
Funders:
Henry Moore Institute
Projects or Series:
REF2021
Related URLs:
Depositing User:
Prof Anne Massey
Date Deposited:
03 Dec 2019 11:59
Last Modified:
19 May 2021 08:55
URI:
https://research.uca.ac.uk/id/eprint/5349

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