Sidney Sime is a notable figure in the field of fantastic art for his work illustrating the tales of Lord Dunsany. The two worked so well together that for one volume Sime did the art pieces first and Dunsany wrote the tales in response to them. Sime also illustrated Arthur Machen's The Hill of Dreams, and produced exuberant comical fantasies for such magazines as The Idler and Pick-Me-Up.
Many of Sidney Sime's artworks were bequeathed by his estate to a special Sime Gallery and Archive at the Memorial Hall in Worplesdon, Surrey, where he had lived, and here they have been available for some years for viewing by appointment.
The local volunteers have been most courteous and helpful in welcoming visitors, but it would be fair to say that Worplesdon is somewhat out-of-the-way and fairly few enthusiasts and researchers have taken the opportunity to view this remarkable collection.
Now, however, some of the highlights have been made available to the Chris Beetles Gallery, Ryder Street, London, for a major exhibition of some 80 of Sime's works: 'Sidney Sime, Master of the Mysterious'. The gallery's website illustrates a generous selection of the works on display, which include both his fantastical scenes, in the Dunsany mode, and caricatures of local people.
The exhibition is on until 27 January.
(Thanks to the editors of Faunus for drawing this to my attention).
(Mark Valentine)
Image: 'Beast in the Woods' by Sidney Sime.
If there is an artist whose work should be "rediscovered" by the wider world it's Sidney Sime. There is no current book collection of his work that I'm aware. There were some attempts in the late 70s but these volumes were not exhaustive and are long out of print. Anybody know any of the editors at Taschen? Or some other specialty press?
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