Finding Iris Murdoch artwork in attic 'a thrill'

Miles Leeson has been studying Dame Iris Murdoch - one of Britain's best-loved authors - for more than a decade.

So when he got a call last year alerting him to the possible discovery of new work by the writer, he did not get his hopes up straight away.

But, climbing into a dusty Oxford attic, he was gobsmacked to find a treasure trove of art created by the Booker Prize-winning novelist.

Almost 80 paintings and sketches, which had laid undisturbed in the eaves for decades, are now on display for the first time at the centre Leeson runs in West Sussex.

Dame Iris lived in the house in the early 1940s, after arriving at university in Oxford in her early 20s.

She died at a nursing home in the city in 1999.

"Going into that house really did feel like stepping back in time," Leeson said.

"A space that hadn't really been explored for a number of years, dusty, cobwebs. It really did feel like a complete treat to be invited in.

"To find the actual materials that we didn't know existed - what a thrill. I brushed off the dust, but other than that they are as they were found."

The highlight of the exhibition is the author's only known self-portrait, which Leeson said was his favourite piece.

"It shows us Murdoch in a new light. There is a frisson when you come and have a look," he said.

Other pieces were inspired by surrealist artists she admired, like Paul Nash and Salvador Dali, while the building threat of war in Europe also influenced her paintings.

The free exhibition will run until December at the University of Chichester's library, and afterwards there are hopes the art may return to Oxford or a national museum.