Wilhelmina Barns-Graham HRSA (1912-2004) was one of Britain’s most significant 20th century modern artists and a prominent member of the post-war St Ives group.
Born in born in St Andrews, Fife, in 1912, Barns-Graham went on to study at Edinburgh College of Art between 1932-37. During this time she received awards and scholarships which enabled her to travel and these early experiences profoundly influenced the development of her work.
In 1940 she moved to St. Ives, Cornwall, and quickly became part of the group that became known as the St Ives School, which included artists such as Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. Barns-Graham travelled regularly over the next 20 years – Switzerland, Italy, Paris, and Spain. With the exception of a short teaching term at Leeds School of Art (1956 – 57) and three years in London (1960 – 63) she lived and worked in St Ives with regular stays in St Andrews where, in 1992, she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University.
In 1999 she was elected an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy and The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW); she also received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter and in 2001 she was awarded a CBE.
The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Charitable Trust was set up in 1987 with the aim of preserving her artistic legacy, and to provide bursaries to support and inspire art students. The RSA Barns-Graham Travel Award, funded by the Trust and administered by the RSA, has been a major annual award in our opportunities programme since 2006. Over this time, it has provided 17 early career artists with the opportunity to travel to diverse locations across the world for the research and development of new bodies of work. These opportunites have had a significant and lasting impact on the practices of the artists involved and it continues to be an important opportunity for emerging Scottish artists today.
