Dorich House Museum, the former studio and home of the Estonian Sculptor Dora Gordine (1895–1991), holds a major collection of Gordine’s oil paintings, a small part of her oeuvre during her long career from the early 1920s to the early 1960s. Of the 27 works, most are portraits of family and friends, seven are still lifes, including one showing the braided challah loaf of Jewish holidays. Gordine’s art training in Tallinn and Paris in the early years of the twentieth century is evident in the paintings, which show the influence of the Cubists, Paul Gauguin and the Fauves, especially in 'Cubist Composition with a Red Pot' and the still life paintings. Gordine’s intimate portrait of her husband, Richard Hare, probably made in the late 1920s, shows him not in formal dress, but in a casual robe, and accurately portrays his sensitive and artistic personality. 'Portrait of a Burmese Woman' and 'Lady of Java' were said by Gordine to be of the same sitter, an inmate of the mental hospital which Gordine visited during her stay in Singapore from 1930 to 1935. The sitter recovered from her depression as a result of modelling for Gordine, and asked to model again.
67 Kingston Vale, London, Greater London SW15 3RN England
dorichhousemuseum@kingston.ac.uk
020 8417 5515
Dorich House Museum is open to the general public on two Fridays each month and by special arrangement. See website for further details.
The paintings are displayed in rotation, please ring and make an appointment if you would like to view a particular painting.