Review of ‘Althea McNish: Colour is Mine’, Whitworth Art Gallery

Kirsty Jukes

Art historian and writer Kirsty Jukes reviews the extensive retrospective of ground-breaking artist and designer Althea McNish, on view with free entry at Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester until 23 April 2023.

Upon entering the exhibition ‘Althea McNish: Colour is Mine’, the innovative designs instantly imprint on the memory. Offset by walls of lush pink and deep red, painterly swathes of black detail punctuate variegated repeat patterning. The artist and designer Althea McNish saw black as a power colour as it fulfils ideas of absence and presence in her work. Fabulously vivid pigments, another key component, marked a step change from fashionable mid-century prints of the same era. By replacing more traditional pastels, browns, olives and rust with vibrant magentas, scarlets, chartreuse, cantaloupe and azure, she dials up each hue to its maximum saturation. Influenced by her heritage, particularly growing up at the centre of Trinidadian carnival festivities, she adapts childhood memories into her work. As she said herself, “everything I did, I saw through a tropical eye”.

Co-curated by Rowan Bain of William Morris Gallery, Amy George of Whitworth Art Gallery and Rose Sinclair of Goldsmiths University, ‘Althea McNish: Colour is Mine’ is the culmination of three years of research, dialogue, exhibition and archival exchange across some of the UK’s most esteemed arts institutions. As the first major retrospective of this important artist and designer’s work (shown initially at the William Morris Gallery in 2022), the exhibition bolsters Manchester’s reputation as a forward-thinking centre for intersectional arts education and opportunity.

Provided by multiple lenders, from companies and galleries to private individual collectors and The McNish Trust, the content of this exhibition spans early works on paper, a plethora of textiles for clothing and home furnishings, screen printed wallpapers and later large-scale paintings. Among the lenders are Vanley Burke, Winston Branch, Paul Dash, Liberty Fabrics, Goldsmiths Textile Collection, William Morris Gallery and the V&A. The sheer variety on display is testament to the extent of her talents.

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 15 May 1924 to a journalist father and seamstress mother, Althea McNish was a carefree child in a secure and encouraging home. She recognised the privileges associated with living in financial security in later life. During her early years she practiced creating artworks, the first of which she exhibited at age 16. Not one for resting on her laurels, she also gave up her spare time to teach children from poorer, rural communities how to paint.

In 1948, she was asked to join the Trinidad Art Society (founded 1943) whose aim was to increase the accessibility of art and elevate the status of artists in the region. Sybil Atteck, an outstanding Trinidadian painter who studied under the German Expressionist Max Beckmann, was instrumental in the formation of the society. Campaigning for a foundation from which local creatives could learn and mutually encourage each other, Atteck befriended McNish upon her acceptance into the society. The artists and their fellow members participated in classes, workshops, discussions and annual exhibitions. Among Atteck’s many artworks is a beautiful oil on masonite portrait of McNish which visitors to this exhibition can see for themselves.

In the 1950s, she moved to the UK upon securing an architectural scholarship. After she arrived, it was soon clear this was not her path and she swiftly moved to a screen-printing course at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts. This laid the foundation of her practice and, after encouragement from her peers to stay with textiles rather than fine art, she honed her craft, built an aesthetic, experimented with layering, form and depth.

Her talents warranted a commission by Liberty’s who felt that Britain was ready for a new post-war look. Whilst those unaccustomed to McNish’s ideas (especially as furnishings for their homes) may have dismissed them as naive simplicity, her designs are alive with an expressive complexity the likes of which hadn’t been seen as widely in this country until she arrived. Liberty’s were proved right in their choice and her popularity rose steadily from there. What followed were many other prestigious commissions from Ascher Ltd., Heals, Danasco, Sanderson-Rigg, Design Research Unit, Sekers and Hull Traders. Her work could then be seen on murals, ships, in steam trains and in Christian Dior designs.

Founded in 1966, the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was the first organisation concerned with creating a new Caribbean aesthetic and celebrating a sense of shared ‘nationhood’ among the diaspora. This group of artists helped spotlight the work of UK artists of colour and McNish’s membership furthered the cause of women artists too. It’s important to remember that during the 1960s, laws had just been passed to prohibit racial segregation; however, racial prejudice amongst Britons was widespread. The results of one poll showed that approximately 75% of the population were sympathetic to views expressed in Enoch Powell's 1968 Rivers of Blood speech agreeing that non-white immigration should be halted completely and those already here be repatriated.

In consideration of this, the fact that black artists in Britain not only managed to gain some exposure and, in some cases, became extremely popular is remarkable and a point that is easy to forget today. Althea McNish’s sense of artistic freedom and lack of self-conscious inhibition ensured she became part of the fabric of British life and quashed any claims that she should not be here. The ignorance of some sections of society during those times should not be forgotten and it is precisely why I feel that exhibitions like this one can help in our own times of intolerance.

In 1966, McNish was invited to create a model room at the Ideal Home exhibition. Her brief was to imagine a space for the ‘girl about town’, the swinging sixties version of a bright young thing. As sexual politics and attitudes slowly began to change, so did the fortunes of young women, with many more than before being able to live aspirationally. Organisers wanted to tap into this by ensuring young women were reflected in the interior trends of the time (homemaking was usually reserved for mothers or women from affluent backgrounds). McNish’s space at the Ideal Home exhibition encouraged visitors to reimagine personal space as a domain for single and free women as well as to allow the exuberance of their wearable fashions to be mirrored in the domestic. This will also have been an important chance for Trinidadian women to feel represented by seeing their country in her designs while perhaps easing feelings of homesickness.

The visualisation of just what McNish meant by being an independent woman is further aided by ‘Bachelor Girls of today’ - an installation display near the end of the exhibition. It acts as a representation of the artist’s earlier idea set in a contemporary context. The redesign, overseen by Nana Biamah-Ofosuh and Bushra Mohamed, uses some of McNish’s fabrics and teams them with mid-century furniture, a multi-ethnic wardrobe and racial empowerment literature. It acts as a place of pause and contemplation where attendees can sit on furniture, read a book or write a note. The curtained area acts as a place of solace allowing the ‘Bachelor Girl’ a moment of privacy away from familial and societal concerns and expectations. Women viewing the space can mindfully imagine a dwelling of their own and I personally felt a warm sense of safety whilst walking through the exhibit.

McNish’s surety of vision and confidence in her own skill allowed her to make strides in areas where others may have felt discouraged. As she states here, “whenever printers told me it couldn't be done, I would show them how to do it. Before long the impossible became possible.” A strong sense of identity and belief ensured that she was not deterred by naysayers and this surely was part of the reason she had such a long and varied career. There is much to be learned from her, whether that be her thirst for knowledge, a seemingly endless ability to create bold new ideas and a talent that spanned so many areas - fashion, interior design, fine art, travel and more.

‘Althea McNish: Colour is Mine’ runs until Sunday 23rd April. The Whitworth Art Gallery has a number of other excellent exhibitions running concurrently, including ‘(Un)Defining Queer’, ‘Open House’ and ‘Exchanges: Recent Additions to the Collection’ to name a few. It’s well worth booking a full day of your time to really absorb what they have to offer.