Magna Johansson, 1913, Sweden. 

Fernand Khnopff (1858 – 1921)

Emma Kunz (1892–1963), a Swiss healer and spiritualist. Her works were only exhibited after her death, and she herself believed that her art was destined to be viewed by later generations. In the last few years, her drawings have been shown alongside the works of artists such as Hilma af Klint and Agnes Martin; however, Kunz’s practice does not easily fit into the history of the development of abstraction. Perhaps this is because art in itself was not her primary occupation; she considered it a means for the exploration of the astral plane.

The Unicorn in Captivity (from the Unicorn Tapestries), Metropolitan Museum of Art: Cloisters

Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1937 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts

Hilma af Klint (Swedish, 1862-1944)

Tree of Knowledge, 1913

Hilma af Klint’s paintings are diagrams of a spiritual plane that underlies the visual world. She was a member of a small group of women who would meet to access religious spirits with knowledge of the afterlife.

Gregor, one of the spiritual masters she contacted during these meetings, said to her that the paintings represent “All the knowledge that is not of the senses, not of the intellect, not of the heart but is the property that exclusively belongs to the deepest aspect of your being […] the knowledge of your spirit.”

Hilma af Klint wanted to keep her paintings secret from the public until 20 years after her death.

THE SAD HOUR rare early 1900s coffin plaque. Read about it right here.

HAUNTINGS

Tales of the Supernatural