Wilhelmina Barns-Graham CBE
Artist Bio
In 1940, Barns-Graham moved to St Ives, becoming a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists in 1942. She retained a studio there until her death. It was here she connected with modernists like Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo. Barns-Graham eventually left the St Ives Society, becoming a founding member of the breakaway group, the Penwith Society of Arts. By the 1950s, her studies of local scenes were becoming more two dimensional, developing into expressionism and free form compositions throughout the 1960s. Her work later explored geometrical abstraction with her use of colour and composition creating a sense of vitality.
In 1999, Barns-Graham was elected an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Scottish Watercolourists. She was awarded a CBE in 2001. Barns-Graham's work is included in a number of public collections including the Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate Britain, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.