The Resurrection, 1940
This work, painted in March 1940, dates from Edwin's Surrealist phase. It was one of two of Edwin's paintings exhibited in the Society of Scottish Artists' 1940 exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy Gallery in Edinburgh.
The Resurrection now belongs to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. This psychiatric hospital twice featured prominently in Edwin's life. Edwin was a conscientious objector during the Second World War and the Royal Ed was one of the hospitals he was posted to work in. Then, in the 1980s, he was an in-patient at the Royal Ed when suffering from depression. The Royal Ed has a notable art collection that it exhibits in its corridors and wards and when Edwin was discharged he decided to donate a painting. This is the one he chose. Can't help thinking it's designed to challenge the patients rather than sooth them!