Man with Horse and Cart, 1916
PROVENANCE:
The Artist’s Estate
Denis Peploe and thence by descent
It is tempting to assume this dynamic drawing came after Morris began her long-term relationship with J.D. Fergusson, shortly before the start of the Great War. They were in France in the early months of 1914, at La Petit Farandole on Cap d’Antibes before being forced back to London when War was declared.
This rare drawing reveals Morris’s understanding of movement and rhythm; qualities that would come to define her revolutionary dance practice. Executed with economy, the composition is constructed through fluid sweeping lines which animate both horse and figure, transforming the subject into an exploration of motion and balance rather than simple observation. In this small-scale work, Morris reduces the scene to essential rhythmic forms.
About Margaret Morris
Margaret Morris was a dancer, choreographer, artist and teacher, and a pioneering figure in the development of modern dance in Britain. Born in 1891, London, she trained from an early age but rejected the constraints of classical ballet, developing instead a freer, more expressive approach to movement. In 1910, she opened her first school in London, and over the following decades formalised her ideas into the Margaret Morris Movement, an innovative system that united dance, design, music and physical training through principles of rhythm, harmony and natural motion.
