Art

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

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.”

Petrit Halilaj: Very volcanic over this green feather, installation view at Tate St Ives, 2021. Photo: Tate Photography (Matt Greenwood)

What’s on

Tate St Ives

£5 Locals Pass

Cornwall residents get unlimited year-round entry to Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden for just £5.

Petrit Halilaj Until 16 January 2022

In April 1999 Petrit Halilaj made thirty-eight drawings using coloured felt-tip pens on paper. He was thirteen years old and living with his family in a refugee camp in Albania, displaced by the Kosovo War. Halilaj has revisited these childhood drawings at Tate St Ives. The images are magnified and rearranged as giant hanging cut-outs in the gallery, combining poignant images of rural landscapes and animals with scenes of war. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/exhibition/petrit-halilaj

Artist Rooms: Sol LeWitt

Bands of vibrant acrylic paint incorporating every primary (red, yellow, blue) and secondary (green, orange, purple) colour across the curved gallery space. https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives/display/artist-rooms-sol-lewitt

Winter Light Commission: AVIARY Until 9 January 2022

Free to view in the entrance of Tate St Ives is brought to life with AVIARY, a light project by artist Sammy Lee. Projected into the dome of the entrance, the flocking behaviours of computer-generated birds are determined by real-time data. AVIARY is a multi-media installation at Tate St Ives and a 360° livestream online. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/exhibition/sammy-lee-aviary

Adam James: KEMENETH Until 6 February 2022

Tate St Ives and around St Ives | AR app free to download KEMENETH – the Cornish word for community – responds to recent experiences of living in Cornwall. The project is developed by Adam James (born 1978, UK) in collaboration with St Ives communities and Tate, presenting immersive ‘augmented reality’ (AR) environments around St Ives. Using a smartphone app, outdoor public spaces around St Ives are brought to life with an immersive experience. Check our website for full details. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/exhibition/ adam-james-kemeneth