Thornhead (recto); Head of Christ (verso)

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Artist/Maker Graham Sutherland (British, 1903 - 1980)

Date1946

MediumDouble-sided painting: ink and gouache (recto); gouache (verso) on board

DimensionsOverall: 13 1/2 × 11 1/2 in. (34.3 × 29.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of William G. Roehrick, Class of 1934, H1971, in memory of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips

Object number1991.217a-b

Not on view

DescriptionAlthough the trauma suggested by Graham Sutherland’s "Thornhead" may be related to World War II, from which England was just emerging at the time of its creation, the artist had actually formulated the theme years earlier. After noticing thornbushes against the sky, he conceived of a series of “Thorn Heads” in which “a sort of pricking and demarcation of a hollow head shaped space [would be] enclosed by the points.” Sutherland’s work was often inspired by the natural world, and many of his paintings began as sketches directly from nature. In addition to its natural source, Thornhead resonates with religious significance. It was made in the same year Sutherland painted a large Crucifixion for Saint Matthew’s Church in Northampton, England. On the back of "Thornhead", perpendicular to the composition on the front, is a study for a Crucifixion showing a crown of thorns set atop Jesus Christ’s head. At the time, the artist wrote, “My mind became preoccupied with the idea of thorns (the crown of thorns) and wounds made by thorns.” It is not surprising that he would paint his subject on wood rather than canvas or that he would reuse the panel for another painting, given the shortage of materials after the war. This work was donated to Hamilton College by William G. Roehrick, Class of 1934, H1971, in memory of Duncan and Marjorie Phillips, founders of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, who served on the advisory committee to the Root Art Center. Roehrick lent the painting to an exhibition of works by Graham Sutherland and Henry Moore held at the Phillips Collection in 1953 and presented it to the Emerson Gallery in 1991 (SOURCE: Katherine Alcauskas, Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions, exh. cat.)

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat no. 86) [both sides exhibited];

2006
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 16- December 30, 2006 (no cat.);

2005
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Hamilton Collects: A Century of Curiosities: The Story of the Hamilton College Collection," September 29 - December 30, 2005 (unnumbered cat., illus., cover, 35);

1992
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Rebels & Romantics: Some British Moderns and Their Work," June 6 - September 6, 1992 (cat. no. 51, illus., 45);

1953-54
Washington, DC (The Phillips Gallery). "Graham Sutherland and Henry Moore: A Loan Exhibition," March 7 - April 6, 1953 (checklist no. 44); traveled to: Boston, MA (Institute of Contemporary Art), and 9 venues, April 2, 1953 - April 6, 1954.

Provenance 1991: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by bequest of William G. Roehrick;
by 1953 - 1991: William G. Roehrick.

Markings None noted.

Published References Katherine Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS; HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, exh. cat. (Clinton, NY: Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), pp. 198-99, illus. p. 199;

A CENTURY OF CURIOSITIES, THE STORY OF THE HAMILTON COLLEGE COLLECTION exh. cat. (Clinton, NY: Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, September 29-December 30, 2005, Unnumbered cat.)

Douglas Cooper, THE WORK OF GRAHAM SUTHERLAND (London: Percy Lund, Humphries & Co., Ltd, 1961 (1962 reprinted): illus., 83d.; David Lewis, ed., REBELS & ROMANTICS: SOME BRITISH MODERNS AND THEIR WORK (exh. cat. Clinton, NY: Fred L. Emerson Gallery, 1992): Peter Otto Houseman, Jr. "Graham Sutherland," 47, [checklist] 67, illus., 45.

Signature Not signed.

Inscribed None noted.