Synopsis
The author finds accelerating promise for the future in the visual language of prophetic art in the last 150 years.
About the Author(s)
“The Lord Answering Job Out of the Whirlwind” by William Blake
Dorothea Johnson Blom (1911-1991) became a Quaker in 1937 at the age of 26. Her early work included designing batiks for a Madison Avenue clothing shop and writing nine books for Doubleday press on a variety of subjects. Her temperament led her away from writing and design in favor of more personal interactions of teaching and learning using a variety of forms of artistic expression.
Blom’s specialty in teaching was adult art education. She brought this talent to a number of Quaker adult educational institutions including Pendle Hill and Woodbrooke. While teaching at Woodbrooke, she also got an opportunity to lecture at the Tate Museum of Modern art in London. Her 1966 pamphlet, The Prophetic Element in Modern Art, contextualized modern art by reference to the social and spiritual prescience of significant figures in art history.
Pendle Hill Pamphlet #148
NB: A collection of 10 postcard reproductions to illustrate this pamphlet were initially available for purchase from Pendle Hill Publications. Click on the images below to see enlarged versions.
 “Women Bathing” by Paul Cezanne |
 “Project for the Family” by Henry Moore |
 “The Black Spot” by Wassily Kandinsky |
 “A Young Lady’s Adventure” by Paul Klee |
 “Lobster Trap and Fish Tail” by Alexander Calder |
 “Tiger” by Franz Marc |
 “Dog” by Alberto Giacometti |
 “The Laundress” by Daumier |
 “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso |
