NEWCASTLE.- A large-scale exhibition that explores the work of the celebrated Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, from her early works inspired by the Cornish landscape through to the abstract canvases she made during the 1960s and early 1970s, is to open Newcastle University’s
Hatton Gallery’s 2023 exhibition programme begining February 11th and ending on May 20th. It is the most significant exhibition of the artist’s work in recent years and a chance to engage with works including those rarely seen before by the public in a solo museum presentation for over 30 years.
In particular, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: Paths to Abstraction charts the crucial period of artistic progress during the first half of the artist’s career which saw her development from figuration to abstraction. The exhibition features around seventy paintings and drawings dating from 1935 to 1972, highlighting Barns-Graham’s significant contribution to British 20th century abstract painting.
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham was born in St Andrews, Fife, in June 1912. After studying at Edinburgh College of Art, she moved to Cornwall where she became a prominent member of the St Ives school, alongside Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo. From the 1960s, the artist kept studios in both St Andrews and St Ives, as well as traveling significantly in Europe, drawing inspiration and insight from the landscapes and seascapes she came across along the way.
Highlights include Barns-Graham’s striking depictions of the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland, which have also recently been an inspiration for film maker Mark Cousins, in his critically acclaimed installation about Barns-Graham as well as his forthcoming feature film. For Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: Paths to Abstraction, two significant loans will also be included, from the National Galleries of Scotland and Camden Council Art Collection.
With over 70 works from five decades, the exhibition provides a great opportunity to reassess Barns-Graham’s achievements during this period, over 30 years since this number of works were last seen together. With major works drawn from the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust collection, a number of loans will also add to the quality of the selection, these include two fine examples of her celebrated ‘Glacier’ paintings, seen together for the first time since the 1950s – National Galleries of Scotland’s ‘Glacier Chasm’ and the London Borough of Camden’s ‘Ice Cavern’, both painted in 1951.
Further notable works that will be on display include figurative landscapes from St Ives, drawings and paintings from the artist’s exploration of the Grindelwald Glacier, and paintings from the abstract series entitled Things of a Kind in Order and Disorder. Other works to be shown come from the Wilhemina Barns-Graham Trust and include The Road (1935), which has never been seen before in a public gallery. Another significant work, Wicca (1957), recently conserved will be seen for the first time.
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: Paths to Abstraction has been organised in collaboration with the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, based in Edinburgh. Rob Airey, Director of the Wilhemina Barns-Graham Trust, says, “We are delighted to present such a significant exhibition of Wilhemina Barns-Graham’s work, and to shine a light on some of the most interesting periods of her artistic oeuvre. Visitors will get a vivid sense of the contribution ‘Willie’ made to the 20th Century British art canon in this exhibition, with some of the most striking paintings and works on paper she made set to be included.”
Julie Milne, Chief Curator of Art Galleries at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM), said: "I’m thrilled that we are able to bring the work of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham to the region. This is a very special opportunity to see so many examples of her work in one setting. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham is an important artist and I hope this exhibition supports the work of the trust in achieving the greater recognition and prominence that her work deserves."
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham was born in St Andrews on 8 June 1912. She attended Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with her diploma in 1937. At the suggestion of the College’s principal Hubert Wellington, she moved to St Ives in 1940 joining the developing art community there. Following her travels to the Grindelwald Glacier, Switzerland in 1949 her work caught the attention of many eminent contemporary critics, curators and collectors. In 1960 Barns-Graham inherited a family home near St Andrews, dividing her time between the two coastal communities. She exhibited throughout her career, with important public exhibitions in 1989 and at Tate St Ives in 1999 and 2005. The publication of the first monograph devoted to her work - Lynne Green’s ‘W. Barns-Graham: a studio life’ confirmed her as a key contributor to the St Ives School, and as a significant British modernist. She was made a CBE in 2001, and received four honorary doctorates. Her work is found in all major public collections within the UK. She died in St Andrews on 26 January 2004 having established the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust to manage her artistic and charitable legacy.
