Body & Soul
Body & Soul
2 April - 2 October 2022
Wixamtree and Connections Gallery – Free Entry
Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Woman with a Brooch (Madonna), 1903 © Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery
Drawn from the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Collection, explore how women have been represented in art over the past two centuries.
Through a selection of sculptures, prints, oils and watercolours, this exhibition examines how beauty and femininity has been celebrated and challenged through the ages, and encourages visitors to question their own modern perceptions.
Many of the artworks are by male artists' and range from the soulful to the physical. Women are seen as objects of desire for the ‘male gaze’ and passive vehicles of male creativity, but they are also recognised as creative people in their own right, going beyond traditional stereotypes.
The female artists’ representations of women in the exhibition are vastly different to their male counterparts, showing a deeper insight into women’s experiences.
Dora Carrington (1893-1932), Mrs Box, 1919 © Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery
Highlights in the exhibition include artworks by Edgar Degas, Edvard Munch, Dora Carrington, Stanley Spencer, Henri Matisse, Gwen John, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucian Freud and Chila Burman.
Nina Hamnett’s drawing, the most recent acquisition to the collections will also be on display at The Higgins Bedford for the very first time.
A fully coloured catalogue offering an in-depth view of the artworks with essays by the curators is also available from The Higgins Bedford shop.