Colquhoun is regularly mentioned in dictionaries of Twentieth Century artists where her contribution to British surrealism is briefly acknowledged. Several of the exhibition catalogues listed in the previous section contain short essays. There are, however, very few scholarly discussions of her works. The following are worth consulting, especially Remy (1999) and Chadwick (1985) although the latter is now somewhat out of date.
Ades, D. Notes on Two Women Surrealist Painters: Eileen Agar and Ithell Colquhoun. Oxford Art Journal, 3(1) (April 1980): 36-42.
Battersby, C. Just Jamming: Irigaray, Painting and Psychoanalysis. in K. Deepwell (ed) New Feminist Art Criticism. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1995. Discusses Scylla (1938), which is reproduced in b/w.
Chadwick, W. Women Artists and the Surrealist Movement. Thames and Hudson, London 1985. Contains discussion, references and five b/w illustrations.
Deepwell, K. Ithell Colquhoun. In Gaze D (ed). Dictionary of Women Artists. Fitzroy Dearborn, London, 1997. pp411-413. One b/w illustration.
Dawson, A. In a Perpetual State of Magic: Ithell Colquhoun and British Surrealism. MA Thesis, University of London, 1990.
Demuth, N. A Plan for Music. In S. Schimanski S and H. Treece, (eds.) Transformation, London: Lindsay Drummond Ltd. 1943. pp151-170.
Ferentinou, V. Women Surrealists and Hermetic Imagery. PhD thesis. University of Essex. 2007. Contains a detailed analysis of the imagery in Goose of Hermogenes.
Foster, A. Tate Women Artists. Tate publishing 2004. One work illustrated in colour.
Frater D.S.P. (ed.) The Collective Images of Ithel [sic] Colquhoun. Portal Publications. No place of publication. 2006. Limited edition of 50 copies.
Hardie, M. (ed). 100 Years in Newlyn: Diary of a Gallery. Patten Press, Penzance, 1995. Contains several references to the artist, reproduces an exhibition catalogue and has photographs.
Johnstone, W. Points in Time. An autobiography. Barrie and Jenkins, London 1980. Brief reminiscences.
Knowles, E. Ithell Colquhoun. Catalogue list of works from her studio. The National Trust 1990. Unpublished manuscript.
Libmann B. British Women Surrealists: Deviants from Deviance. In Oldfield, S (ed) This Working Day World: Social, Political and Cultural History of Women’s Lives, 1914-1945. London: Taylor and Francis 1994. pp156-8.
Monro, S. Ithell Colquhoun: Poet in Words and Pictures. Peninsular Voices, c.1978 10, 12-13.
Ratcliffe, E. Ithell Colquhoun: The Versatile Surrealist. In Wormwood No 2. Spring 2004 pp 17-22.
Ratcliffe, E. Ithell Colquhoun. Mandrake, Oxford. 2007. Outdated and innacurate text. Several of the illustrations are incorrectly identified.
Ray, P.C. The Surrealist Movement in England. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1971. Contains several references.
Remy, M. Towards a Dictionary of Surrealism in England. Groupe Editions Marges, Nancy, 1978. Contains biographical information and one b/w illustration.
Remy, M. Surrealism in Britain. Ashgate, Aldershot, 1999. Contains many references, illustrations and a bibliography by the leading authority on British Surrealism.
Ribeiro, A. The Gallery of Fashion. National Portrait Gallery, London, 2000. Discusses one work and illustrates it in colour.
Robinson, M. Surrealism. Flame Tree Publishing, London, 2005. Discusses two works and illustrates them in colour.
Rosemont P. Surrealist Women. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1998. Contains reprints of several early texts.
Souhami, D. Gluck. Her Biography. Pandora, London, 1988. Contains information and plans concerning Bolton House Studio where Colquhoun worked in the 1950s.
Stanford, D. Inside the Forties. Sidgwick and Jackson, 1977. Contains short reminiscences of the artist and one b/w plate. Stanford was named as Colquhoun’s literary executor, but ill health prevented him from undertaking his duties.
Vann, P. Face to Face. British Self portraits in the 20th Century. Sansom & Co, Ltd, Bristol, 2004. An early self-portrait by Colquhoun is discussed and illustrated in colour.
Whybrow, M. St Ives 1883-1993. Portrait of an Art Colony. Dart Books, St. Ives, 1994. Contains passing references and one b/w illustration.
Back to: Bibliography