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and essays on Austin Osman Spare by Phil Baker, on Stephen Tennant by Philip Hoare and on Voodoo in Coastal Benin by Dr. Louise Fenton. Stephen Pochin of Jerusalem Press has curated a special selection of Spare’s singular art featuring animals. From cats and dogs, to eagles, owls, horses, and satyrs we have corralled a rich cross-section of fauna. From early drawings to late pastels in colour, this themed survey spans 50 years of this visionary London artist’s uncanny art. “Forgotten and famous at the same time, Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) is now a cult figure, much mythologized since his death. Controversial enfant terrible of the Edwardian art world, Spare was hailed as a genius and a new Aubrey Beardsley, but instead, he fell out of the West End art scene and went underground, living in poverty and obscurity in South London. Absorbed in occultism and sorcery, voyaging into inner dimensions and surrounding himself with cats and familiar spirits, he continued to produce extraordinary art while developing a magical philosophy of pleasure, obsession, and the subjective nature of reality.” – Phil Baker
