Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a British abstract painter who lived from 1912 to 2004, was instrumental in the growth of modern abstract art in Britain. With a new Coda chronicling Barns-final Graham's years that for the first time draws from the artist's personal diaries and notebooks, this new paperback version of Lynne Green's classic monograph concludes the tale of the artist's life and work. Scottish-born Barns-Graham spent more than 60 years living and working in St. Ives, where he was a key figure in the avant-garde group of artists who gave the city its notoriety. Barns-Graham arrived in Cornwall only a few months after modernists Naum Gabo, Barbara Hepworth, and Ben Nicholson and was immediately accepted into their close-knit group. She later became a founding member of the young modernist Crypt Group.  
She then became a founding member of the split Penwith Society of Arts and a member of the young modernist Crypt Group. Barns-Graham arrived in Cornwall only a few months after modernists Naum Gabo, Barbara Hepworth, and Ben Nicholson and was immediately accepted into their close-knit group. She then became a founding member of the split Penwith Society of Arts and a member of the young modernist Crypt Group. Lynne Green explores the significance of Barns-national Graham's tradition and of her professors at the Edinburgh School of Painting, particularly the Scottish Colourists William Gillies and John Maxwell, in what is a significant contribution to the history of British art. In-depth discussion is given of Barns-evolving Graham's dedication to abstraction; never reluctant to try new things, her work is shown to encapsulate many of the themes essential to post-war abstract painting. Barns-Graham carried on working until the day she passed away with the excitement and vigor typically seen in young people. Though that wasn't always the case, near the end of her life her art began to receive the recognition it deserved. Insightful essay by Lynne Green returns Wilhelmina Barns-Graham to her proper place in the St. Though that wasn't always the case, near the end of her life her art began to receive the recognition it deserved. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham is given her due in the history of the St. Ives School thanks to Lynne Green's informative writing, which also confirms her individual accomplishment as a painter and, implicitly, the significance of her larger contribution to twentieth-century art. Since Barns-Graham passed away at the age of 91, her work has attracted more attention, not just in the auction rooms.  Most significantly, it has also been the focus of reappraisal through a number of exhibitions and publications. The only comprehensive biography of an artist who, despite frequently being unfairly overlooked, had the strength and determination to forge her own path and achieve tremendous and astonishing achievement is still contained in this book. Because of her passionate adoption of cutting-edge modern screenprinting techniques in the last ten years of her life, Barns-inventiveness Graham's flowered and her productivity significantly increased. She worked during these years with a fresh sense of urgency and artistic freedom, with risk-taking emerging as a major topic. The outcome included some of the most thrilling, cheerful, and life-affirming artwork ever created by a British artist.