WOOLF ARTS ARCHIVE

Honoring Virginia Woolf and Suzanne Bellamy:
A Seminar on "Woolf and the Chaucer Horse"




On January 25, 2024, an online seminar commemorated Virginia Woolf’s 142nd birthday through an exploration of Suzanne Bellamy’s painting "Woolf and the Chaucer Horse". Organized by Prof. Dr. Mine Özyurt Kılıç, founder of the Woolf Arts Archive and recipient of the Suzanne Bellamy Travel Fund, alongside Dr. Azime PekÅŸen Yakar, this event celebrated the enduring legacies of both Woolf and Bellamy.
​
The seminar explored the symbolic resonance of Bellamy’s painting, which intricately intertwines medieval and modernist themes. In the artwork, Woolf is depicted riding Chaucer’s horse which is a powerful symbol of movement and literary authority. This imagery highlights Woolf’s journey into the tradition of women’s writing, a theme central to her seminal essay, "A Room of One’s Own".
​
This seminar, conceived as a tribute to both Virginia Woolf and Suzanne Bellamy, aimed to highlight the rich dialogue between literature and art while bridging Woolf’s literary imagination and Bellamy’s creative vision in a celebration of their shared legacies.