Key Takeaway
Second world war paintings and sketches show novelist ‘engaging with her world in a new light’For decades, they lay in a secret room in her attic gathering dust. Now, newly discovered artworks by the Booker prize-winning author Iris Murdoch – including the only self-portrait she is known to have painted, four surrealist landscape paintings and three sketches of female nudes…
Published August 14, 2026 · Category: News
Overview
Second world war paintings and sketches show novelist ‘engaging with her world in a new light’
For decades, they lay in a secret room in her attic gathering dust. Now, newly discovered artworks by the Booker prize-winning author Iris Murdoch – including the only self-portrait she is known to have painted, four surrealist landscape paintings and three sketches of female nudes – will go on display for the first time on Friday.
Details
The artworks were created at the start of the second world war when Murdoch was a student at Oxford. They expose her early interest in surrealism and fascination with the naked female form.
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Source
Originally published at www.theguardian.com.
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Second world war paintings and sketches show novelist ‘engaging with her world in a new light’For decades, they lay in a secret room in her attic gathering dust. Now, newly discovered artworks by the Booker prize-winning author Iris Murdoch – including the only self-portrait she is known to have painted, four surrealist landscape paintings and three sketches of female nudes – will go on display for the first time on Friday.The artworks were created at the start of the second world war when Murdo
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This story was reported by The Guardian World.