The Facts
Tate St Ives opens a major retrospective of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004), the first exhibition to span the full breadth of her eight-decade career. The exhibition brings together over 150 paintings, drawings, and prints, including the largest museum presentation of her glacier series to date. It traces her evolution from early landscapes and interior paintings to abstract and gestural compositions, highlighting her role as a key figure in British modernism and the St Ives artistic community. The exhibition runs from 24 October 2026 to 3 May 2027 and will travel to Pallant House Gallery in Chichester from 22 May to 31 October 2027. It is curated by Katy Norris and Dara McElligott.
The Signal
This long overdue retrospective positions Barns-Graham as an endlessly inventive artist whose work speaks to the relationship between inner perception and the natural world. For collectors and curators, the exhibition offers a comprehensive view of her practice, including rarely seen loans and archival material that may reshape her standing within 20th-century British art. The collaboration between Tate St Ives and the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, along with the subsequent tour to Pallant House Gallery, signals growing institutional recognition of her contribution to modernism and abstraction.
- Artists: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
- People: Katy Norris, Dara McElligott
- Museums: Tate St Ives, Pallant House Gallery
- Locations: St Ives, Chichester
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