Catalogue produced for the exhibition Eileen Agar: An Eye for Collage at Pallant House Gallery from 25 October 2008 to 15 March 2009.
Author: Andrew Lambirth

Often pigeon-holed as a surrealist, Eileen Agar (1899-1991) was in fact a highly original and independent imaginitive artist. Working within the tradition of English romantic painting, she made a unique contribution to the art of her times. The lyrical resonance and inventive breadth of her work is only now beginning to be properly recognised, and this book is the first to draw upon previously unpublished research.

The writer and critic Andrew Lambirth, who knew Agar well, has written an in-depth study of her work as it developed over seven decades. Focussing on the use of collage which was central to her practice, Lambirth examines key examples from the different periods of her career. Not only does this book illustrate many previously unknown works, but it unveils an unusual depth of insight into the subject. Writing with the authority of long collaboration with the artist, Lambirth is able to reveal many details of her thought and artistic methods. Agar emerges as an artist overdue for re-assessment, capable of holding her own beside such contemporaries as Paul Nash and Graham Sutherland.

• RRP: £19.95
• Author: Andrew Lambirth
• Published: 2008
• Publisher: Pallant House Gallery with AVA, Chichester
• Edition: First
• Format: Paperback
• Height: 26cm
• Pages: 130
• Illustrations: Black & white illustrations and photographs throughout.
• ISBN: 978-2-940411-11-5