Triad

Doris Seidler

From Hinduism to Christianity to ancient Celtic religion and Greek mythology, the archetype of a three-headed god - or a triadic deity - appears throughout texts and oral traditions. Here, Doris Seidler presents an abstracted, triadic woman in a crown and veil, her linework emblematic of her early career, Cubist and Surrealist-influenced years that were honed in the studio of Atelier 17 in New York. Much of Seidler’s figurative work at this time was wrought in fractal, angular planes filled with patterns and textures, exhibiting the artist’s exploration of the intaglio plate. Her style constantly evolved, often changing with the medium.

Doris Seidler had been an amateur artist in England before her marriage and later, in her husband's business absences, Hayter accepted her as a participant in his wartime printmaking classes in New York in 1940, exposing her to the experimental approachs of Atelier 17. After returning to England in 1945 she emigrated to the US in 1948 and returned to working in the New York studio into the 1950s.

As an associate of Hayter's she learned not only the diverse techniques of gravure, but a philosophy centered on Hayter's overriding principle, "adequate motive", which meant that superb skills are not enough.

Doris's son, David Seidler, went on to become a screenwriter, winning an Oscar for his screenplay "The King's Speech", based in his own experiences with stammering which developed when the family came to America by ship during WWII.