© 2003 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Psychiatry in pictures
Born an illegitimate child, Madge Gill was hidden by her mother and an aunt
until the age of nine when, on her mother's death, she was sent to an
orphanage. She later lived with another aunt, who introduced her to
spiritualism. One of her three sons died in the 1918 influenza epidemic and in
the following year she had a still-born daughter. Soon after this she became
very ill, lost the sight in her left eye and spent several months confined to
bed. In 1919 she began to draw, embroider and knit, often working in bed by
the light of an oil lamp or candle and sometimes, it has been suggested, in
complete darkness. She would often work through the night, standing in front
of a huge roll of calico set up on a frame so that the material could be
gradually unwound. Some of these pictures are more than 30 feet long. She
claimed that a guiding spirit, Myrninerest, conveyed minutely detailed,
otherworldly images directly onto the canvas by working through her. The
pictures feature a female figure with an oval face and large eyes, thought to
represent Madge Gill or her lost daughter. Sometimes her face appears sad and
fearful, sometimes proud and triumphant. Dresses and hats often merge into a
background that contains abstract patterns and architectural forms. Her
pictures were sometimes annotated on the verso with strange neologisms,
tortuous French epigrams and musings on Christ's mission, the migration of
souls and the inhabitants of Mars. After the death of her husband in the 1930s
she became much more deeply involved in the world of spiritualism and held
weekly seances. But she did not attribute her inspiration to spiritualism at
the start, writing later: ‘I was in quite a normal state of mind and
there was no suggestion of a "spirit" standing beside me. I simply
felt inspired. I felt I was definitely guided by an unseen force, though I
could not say what its actual nature was’. Although she exhibited her
pictures to favourable reviews, she always refused to sell on the grounds that
they belonged not to her but to her spirit guide. This and other pictures by
Madge Gill can be seen at the Bethlem Royal Hospital Archives and Museum (Tel:
+44 (0)20 8776 4307). With thanks to Patricia Allderidge, Archivist and
Curator at the Museum, for information about Madge
Gill.
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Madge Gill (1884-1961): Women and Chequered Staircase (pen and ink
on calico)
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