I enjoyed Chairing a Panel Discussion to mark the launch of Johnstons of Elgin’s ‘From St Andrews to St Ives’ Pre-Spring Collection, inspired by the work of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004).
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham needs little introduction to readers of this website! She was born in St Andrews, trained at Edinburgh College of Art and is one of Scotland’s most celebrated artists of the 20th century. In 1940 she left Edinburgh for Cornwall and became an important member of the St Ives School. She went on to become a pioneer of British Abstraction and, from 1960, split her time between St Andrews and St Ives.
oil on canvas 92 x 122cm
Collection and (c) The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust
From Fine Art to Fine Cashmere
It was fascinating to see how Angela Bell, Head of Creative at Johnstons of Elgin, took Barns-Graham’s choice of colours, colour combinations, use of line and gesture and translated them into the beautiful palettes, designs and amazing cashmere that the company – as a Scottish family business – have been creating since 1797. One work in particular that inspired Angela was Barns-Graham’s painting Firth of Forth Series No. 12 of 1996.
Photo: James McLaren
My Fellow Panellists
Angela and my fellow panellists were Rob Airey, Director of the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust and the visual artist Andrea Geile. We were introduced by Vice Chair of Johnstons of Elgin and great-granddaughter of its founder, Jenny Urquhart. The Trust was established by Barns-Graham in 1987 to enhance the reputation and understanding of her work and through her legacy support young people and other individuals to fulfil their potential in the visual arts. Rob and his colleagues Cassia Pennington and Tilly Heydon brought a selection of Barns-Graham’s works along to the event and it was terrific to see them displayed amidst the collection.
It turns out that Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and Johnstons of Elgin make a great combination. The ‘From St Andrews to St Ives’ collection is available early in Johnstons of Elgin’s Edinburgh branch before the full launch on 2 December 2026. For more about Barns-Graham please follow this link and to find out more about Andrea Geile, please read this feature.
