Loan from the Trust
Pilgrimage, 1967, oil on canvas, BGT6167
The Lindisfarne Gospels, the most spectacular manuscript to survive from Anglo-Saxon England, will be on display at the Laing Art Gallery from 17 September to 3 December 2022, on loan from the British Library. The Gospels was created on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and represent the golden age of design and craftsmanship in Northumbria. Remarkably the book has survived in almost perfect condition for over a thousand years.
The Gospels manuscript will be contextualised within a broader exhibition examining its meaning in the world today and its relationship to themes of personal, regional and national identity; beginning with an immersive digital experience and a selection of early medieval treasures brought together from across Britain, representing both personal and collective religious experiences in the 8th century. Paintings, drawings, photographs and a new film by Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller will further explore how art and spirituality have developed in the centuries since the Lindisfarne Gospels were created. We are delighted that this section of the exhibition will include two Barns-Graham works, West Sands, St Andrews July, 1981, and illustrated here, Pilgrimage, 1967.