Cynthia Pell

About Cynthia Pell

Cynthia Pell suffered psychiatric problems throughout her short life. She died at 44 after spending nearly fifteen years, sometimes in a locked ward, at St Bernard's Hospital in Middlesex. Her work explores her frustration at her own mental suffering as well as showing a sympathy for others in a similar condition. John Russell Taylor writes: "Like the best of the art to emerge from the concentration camps, these drawings are remarkable for their intense emotional quality, which completely transcends the anecdotal interest by universalising Pell's agonised vision."

Portrait of an Adolescent [c.1955]
Charcaol on paper, 38 x 28 cms
Donated by Natalie Dower, Britta von Zweigbergk and Evelyn Williams 2001

Lost Figures [c. 1960]
Oil on board, 75 x 109 cms
Donated by Natalie Dower, Britta von Zweigbergk and Evelyn Williams 2001

Cat Vomiting [c. 1976]
Ink and crayon on coloured paper, 26 x 20 cms
Donated by Natalie Dower, Britta von Zweigbergk and Evelyn Williams 2001

Self-Portrait in Cupboard [1977]
Ink on paper, 21 x 29.5 cms
Donated by Natalie Dower, Britta von Zweigbergk and Evelyn Williams 2001.