Wilhelmina Barns-Graham's glacier paintings reach Tate St Ives on 24 October

You can stand in front of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham's glacier paintings at Tate St Ives from 24 October. Closing dates differ, though: the museum's pages say 3 May 2027, while the Royal Scottish Academy lists 11 April 2027. Check before you plan a trip.

Tate says it made the show with the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. Over 170 paintings, drawings and prints come together, plus archive material. Katy Norris and Dara McElligott curate it for Tate St Ives.

Why the glacier matters

Barns-Graham visited the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland in 1949. That trip became a turning point for her work. She sought a "total experience" in her art, the museum notes. Visitors get the largest museum presentation of her glacier series to date.

One example is Glacier Crystal, Grindelwald, made in 1950. The Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust lends it for the show.

The context

In the academy's words, it is a retrospective (a show that looks back over a whole career). It says this is the first to chart the full length of her career, across eight decades. Student days at Edinburgh College of Art come first. St Ives years follow, then later work between Cornwall and Scotland. Other themes include studio interiors, travels in Italy and the Balearic Islands, and the Small Energy drawings.

Colour and joy in later work

Her Scorpio paintings, made in her last two decades, end the show. In 2001, aged 89, she said her theme was "celebration of life, joy, the importance of colour, form, space and texture".

How to visit

Here is what the release lists for visitors.

• Tate Members enter free, and Tate Collective members aged 16 to 25 pay £5.
• On 24 October, a talk called In Conversation runs from 11.00 to 12.00 and needs a free pre-booked ticket.
• Dance performances called Leap then Look run from 12.00 to 16.00 that day, free with admission.
• A Winter Festival on 29 November 2026 charges £1 for gallery admission.
• A 240-page hardback catalogue costs £35.

Our view

We would check the closing date on the day you book, since the two pages differ.

My own packing list for St Ives now includes a coat and optimism.

Would you visit?