A new exhibition is bringing Yasmin David into the spotlight as a pivotal figure in British landscape painting, revealing the full scope of her artistic talent only after her passing. The daughter of renowned writer Laurie Lee and bohemian artist Lorna Garman, David maintained a fiercely private creative space that remained inaccessible to her family during her lifetime.
Her childhood home in south Devon was surrounded by apple orchards, where a wooden outbuilding once serving as a dormitory for Dartington Hall students stood as her dedicated studio. Clio David recalls that her mother visited this space daily to paint and work, strictly forbidding anyone from entering. “It was somewhere she went every day to paint and work, and no one was allowed near it,” Clio said. “The walls of our house were covered in her paintings, but the studio was a private place.”
While her works decorated the family home, the separation between her domestic life and her professional practice kept the extent of her contributions hidden. This latest show aims to correct that historical oversight, placing David firmly at the heart of the British landscape tradition.
Strictly private studios are rare. I wonder if she ever regretted keeping the world out for so long.
I didn’t know Laurie Lee was her father. Does that familial pressure contribute to her secrecy?
Another overlooked woman artist finally getting recognition? About time the art world caught up.
Fascinating how isolation bred such brilliance. The Devon orchards must have been inspiring yet isolating.