Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
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Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912 - 2004) was one of the foremost British abstract artists.
Born in St Andrews, Fife, she attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1932 to 1937. She went to St Ives in 1940, quickly becoming part of the group which included Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. She was a founder member of the Penwith Society.
She 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 (RSA) and the Royal Scottish Watercolourists (RSW); she also received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter and in 2001 she was awarded CBE.