Eight Decades of Artistic Practice

 

Over the eight decades of her artistic career, Barns-Graham tended to work in themes, some of them lasting years (or decades), each one abounding with inspiration allowing her to return to them again and again.

Three paintings grouped on a light blue background. From left to right: a volcano with rocky lava flow in foreground; an abstracted composition of fungi on wood in green and red background; an abstracted composition of two people working in a toy shop

Inspirational Themes

This section aims to provide an introduction to some of the themes Barns-Graham explored in her work, bringing together art, archive material and publications from across the collection. The section will grow as our research develops.

Thematic Development

 

For an overview of the thematic development of Barns-Graham’s career, it would be difficult to summarise it more succinctly than she did on this scrap of paper found slipped inside her 1998 page-per-day diary (WBG/4/1/64).

A handwritten note with a list of themes. It reads: Heads / Views / Glaciers - off + on after / Rock Forms. Golden Section / Clay Country. Formations / Circles / Squares / Problems I set projects / Things of a kind in order and disorder / Single forms / Drawings / Watercolours / Gouaches / Acrylics / Destroyed numerous larger works / pure abstracts / mushrooms / shells / sum constructions / nice dwgs as things of a kind / constellations / Miro Klee / Robert Adams BN BH Gabo / Phyllis Bottome

Note with series chronology by WBG slipped into her 1998 page-per-day diary on 5 October 1998, WBG/4/1/64

Notes from WBG’s page-per-day diary

Heads / Views / Glaciers – off + on after / Rock Forms. Golden Section / Clay Country  Formations / Circles / Squares / Problems I set. Things of a kind / Projects / in order + disorder / Single forms / Drawings / Water colours [sic] / Gouaches / Acrylics / Destroyed numerous larger works / pure abstracts / mushrooms / shells / sun.  Constructions / “nice dwgs as things of a kind” / Constellations – / Miro – Klee / Robert Adams. BN. BH. Gabo. / Phyllis Bottome

Transcription of WBG/4/1/64

Themes

Heads


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Views


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Glaciers


Rock Formations & the Golden Section


Clay Working, Chiusure, offset with tempera, 1954

Italian Clay Country


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Painting with blue background. In the middle of the painting, a mass of small yellow dots collide with one another, some partially shade red. At the bottom, a mass of small red dots collide with one another, some partially shaded yellow

Things of a Kind in Order and Disorder


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Small Energy Drawings


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Painting with mid-grey background and series of elongated narrow triangles stretched from top to bottom of image each touching one another. The triangles are coloured grey, peach, brown, red, black, grey, white, yellow, grey, beige and orange

Expanding Forms


Collage of hole-punched dots shaded white overlaid in undulating pattern over top two thirds. Bottom third is flat black.

Collages


Warbeth 7 1995 acrylic on paper on hardboard 25.6 x 25.5 cm BGT6163

Orkney


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Volcanic Island, Lanzarote, near La Geria No.2, 1989 (BGT 976) © Wilhelmina Barns Graham-Trust

Lanzarote


An acrylic painting with an abstract composition of vertical brushstrokes in bright colours on a dark grey background

Scorpio Series


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Runabout Time 2006 (posthumously printed) screenprint, edition of 25 56 x 76 cm

Prints