Georgiana Houghton: A Pioneering Spirit

In this richly illustrated talk Vivienne Roberts takes us on a journey into the life and art of Georgiana Houghton - a pioneering spirit inspired artist who not only painted visions of the otherworldly, but also envisioned with clarity a new purpose for her art and life. It was not a path for the faint-hearted, nor did it conform to societal expectations for women in Victorian England. Instead, Georgiana and her contemporaries had to overcome obstacles such as ridicule, persecution and fear of being committed to an asylum, or even prosecution under Britain’s archaic witchcraft laws. Georgiana felt emboldened by her ability to communicate with the spirits and in her quest to share her ‘delightful gift’ of mediumship, she moved from the margins of society as a middle-aged spinster to centre stage within the Modern Spiritualist movement. Here she created some of the most innovative artworks that the art world had ever seen, anticipating modern abstract art by half a century.

Vivienne Roberts is the curator and archivist at The College of Psychic Studies in London, where she cares for their large collection of spirit inspired art, photographs and artifacts from 1850 to the present day. This unusual archive, along with the College’s specialist esoteric library, has offered Vivienne the opportunity to immerse herself in a wealth of primary material and has been instrumental in helping her curate a series of large exhibitions, including: Encounters with the Spirit World (2016), Art & Spirit: Visions of Wonder (2019), Strange Things Among Us (2021) and Creative Spirits (2022). Vivienne’s art specialism is the history of mediumistic art with particular attention to its women practitioners. She has established the websites mediumisticart.com, georgianahoughton.com and madgegill.com and has published numerous articles and exhibition catalogue contributions. Vivienne is a member of the Visionary Women Research Group and the British Art Network.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Highgate Cemetery, Swain's Lane, London, United Kingdom