The Easel

How the Victorians brought famous artists back from the dead in seances

Victorian England was much taken with ideas about spiritualism – and Georgiana Houghton more than most. She believed that her paintings expressed the wishes of long dead artists which led some to dismiss her work as not “true” art. However, a London exhibition shows that she was a pioneer of non-figurative art as a reflection of a state of mind, an idea that echoed throughout twentieth century art. More images are here.