Record-breaking auction of St Ives School artworks
Funds raised from the sale of the private collection of St Ives-based artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham will help support a new generation of artists – a cause close to her heart.
Barns-Graham (1912-2004) was a pivotal figure in the St Ives School. Her collection of paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, ceramics and jewellery reflected her friendships with other artists and makers who lived and worked in the town in the mid-20th century, including Terry Frost, Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Heron, Roger and Rose Hilton, Bernard and Janet Leach, Ben and Kate Nicholson, Alfred Wallis and Bryan Wynter. At the auction of the Wilhelmina BarnsGraham Collection at the Mall Galleries in London, Hepworth’s Figure and Mirror, 1948, achieved a new world record for a picture by the artist. Charlotte Riordan, head of contemporary and post-war art at auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, said: “The St Ives School was a diverse, important and exciting moment. Barns-Graham’s collection is a special insight into who, what, where, and why this was the case. It also contextualises Barns-Graham herself as a significant figure in this history.” In 1987 Barns-Graham established a charitable trust (WBGT) which aims to promote and broaden the understanding and reputation of her work, as well as supporting artists in their work and education. Since 2006, the WBGT has gifted artworks by Barns-Graham to museums and galleries across the UK, and donated over one million pounds in grants, awards and exhibition sponsorship. It has made contributions to summer schools for artists in her native Fife
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Red and Violet, 1961, by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
and St Ives, and to Tate St Ives’ education programme, offered bursaries to support travel abroad for students and provided financial assistance to enable them to complete their studies successfully. Working closely with the Royal Scottish Academy and Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, WBGT supports residencies for more established artists, encouraging career development and new ways of thinking and working. Rob Airey, director of the Trust, said: “Funds raised from this sale will allow the Trust to extend this ambitious financial support for artists and art education, which was so central to Barns-Graham’s wishes for the Trust, and who need support now more than ever as we emerge from the devastating impact of Covid 19. It will also enable us to increase the accessibility to both the art and archive collections through conservation, publications, exhibitions and web-based resources.”
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