Throughout October, The Scottish Gallery has celebrated the remarkable achievements of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004) with Printed Rhythms, exploring the artist’s vibrant and inventive approach to printmaking. Working with Carol Robertson and Robert Adam of Graal Press during the final years of her life, Barns-Graham embraced the medium with characteristic energy, creating works alive with colour, movement and experimentation. For Willie, it was an opportunity to let rip!
The Scottish Gallery represented Barns-Graham during her lifetime and is delighted to announce a new exclusive partnership with the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, acting as sole agent for her prints. Building on a longstanding relationship with the artist and the Trust, this partnership offers an exciting opportunity to champion Barns-Graham’s exceptional contribution to modern British art and introduce her prints to new audiences and collectors.
“We are delighted to continue to work with Rob Airey and the Trust, building on our longstanding relationship with Willie. It is a privilege to champion her outstanding legacy and contribution to the arts and introduce her prints to new audiences and collectors.”
— Christina Jansen
A Studio Life by Lynne Green
Barns-Graham’s artistic legacy continues to inspire renewed interest in her life and work. This month also sees the publication of a new edition of Lynne Green’s acclaimed monograph, A Studio Life, offering a richly illustrated account of the artist’s remarkable career. Drawing on Barns-Graham’s personal diaries and notebooks, the book traces her journey from Scotland to St Ives and her lifelong exploration of colour and abstraction. With improved colour illustrations and a new preface, this edition offers a compelling insight into the experiences and ideas that shaped her distinctive artistic vision. You can purchase a copy in the gallery or on our website here.
Further afield
Tate St Ives has opened a major retrospective celebrating Barns-Graham’s life and work. Bringing together more than 170 works spanning eight decades, the exhibition offers an opportunity to explore the breadth of an artistic practice defined by curiosity, experimentation and a profound engagement with the natural world. For those visiting Cornwall, it is a wonderful opportunity to encounter the work of one of Britain’s most important modern artists. Book your ticket here
Barns-Graham’s life has also inspired Mark Cousins’ acclaimed 2024 documentary, A Sudden Glimpse into Deeper Things, featuring Tilda Swinton as the voice of the artist. The film explores the encounter with a Swiss glacier in 1949 that transformed Barns-Graham’s artistic vision, opening up new ways of understanding her lifelong fascination with form, colour and abstraction. You can watch the trailer here.
You may also enjoy A Scottish Artist in St Ives, a vintage film from the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust featuring archive photography and narrated by Lynne Green as she traces Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s lifelong exploration of colour and abstraction. You can watch the film here.
From her adventurous experiments in printmaking to the enduring influence of her travels, experiences and artistic discoveries, Barns-Graham’s work continues to reveal new depths. Through our partnership with the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, The Scottish Gallery looks forward to continuing to share her remarkable prints and celebrating a legacy that remains as vital and inventive as ever.
