Untitled, c. 1964
Agatha Wojciechowskyexpand_more
Watercolor on paperexpand_more
Gift of funds from Mary and Bob Merskyexpand_more 2021.86.1
Not on Viewexpand_more
Agatha Wojciechowsky, a healer and Spiritualist minister, was prolific and versatile in her drawings. They ranged from kaleidoscopic, color-bursting spirit landscapes to densely packed webs of faces in clouds executed in pencil or ink. The artist made the work in a trance, guided by at least 11 spirits, whose proclivities seem manifest in the range of styles she enacted.
The process always unfolded in the same manner, absent of any pre-sketching or overall design presented to her in a vision. The spirits always began in the lower left-hand corner of a sheet and worked across the bottom from left to right in a band. The compositions feel full and complete, despite this curious gradual reveal of the whole. Often they appear as fantastic fields of nature and tiny faces, peering out of richly textured or colorful forms.
When fascinated reporters asked Agatha Wojciechowsky about her training or the source of her inspiration, she asserted consistently that she was “an instrument of the spirit world,” echoing the conviction that many others before her had in mediumship. She said, “I really have nothing to do with it. This is the work of different entities who take over and step into my body, directing my hand.” Here, ghostly faces emerge from the brilliant field of soaked-in color, as though looking at us from the other side of the veil.
Details
- Title
- Untitled
- Artist Life
- 1896 - 1986
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2021.86.1
- Curator Approved
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