A Small Monster
1936
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1936
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
A Small Monster is a 1936 by Reuben Mednikoff, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This is a drawing called *A Small Monster* by Reuben Mednikoff. It’s a pen and ink work from 1936. Mednikoff and Grace Pailthorpe used Surrealist “automatic” drawing to explore the mind. He dated this piece seven times in one day, showing how he worked without planning. The strange creature hints at their goal: to uncover hidden fears. Check out how Mednikoff layered lines with cross-hatching.
A pen and ink drawing on thin white paper depicts a rodent-like monster crouching on a tree branch, with rounded edges on the right and a rough left edge indicating it was removed from a book. The work is initialed and dated 21 January 1936–7, reflecting the artist’s automatic process and cataloging of daily drawings. The monstrous figure suggests an exploration of repressed fears and desires through unconscious creation.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Reuben Mednikoff made unsettling drawings in the 1930s that feel like visual diary entries.
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