‘An Axis of Abstraction’: Art in Cornwall and Yorkshire – Then and Now

Since the second half of the 20th century, there has been something of a cross-fertilisation between the respective art practices of West Cornwall and West Yorkshire. Cornwall, and in particular the harbour town of St Ives and its surroundings, has attracted artists since the late 19th century. In the early decades of the 20th century modern artists began to congregate in the area, while the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 saw the artists Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson seek sanctuary in nearby Carbis Bay.

The gathering of artists in and around St Ives during the wartime period made it a magnet for a younger generation of artists after the war ended. At the same time, the establishment of the Gregory Fellowships in painting, sculpture, music and poetry at the University of Leeds in 1950 offered new opportunities for artists to work in Yorkshire for a period.