Rhyme & Reason
25 September 2026 – 9 May 2027
Wixamtree and Connections Gallery - Free Entry
Discover the influence of stories and poetry on artists in this new exhibition drawn from the internationally renowned Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Collection.
Since language began, human beings have used words to tell stories, to record their beliefs, to make jokes, and to express their deepest emotions. So, what happens when artists use their imagination to translate these words into drawings, paintings or sculptures?
Illustrations to Gulliver’s Travels by Edward Bawden (1903-1989)
In this exhibition you will find images that respond to sacred texts, poems, novels, children’s stories, music, theatre or opera. There are also cartoons and caricatures where words and pictures work together to create humour. Sometimes the artists illustrate texts faithfully, sometimes they use them as springboards for their own ideas.
All this and more will be explored in the works of artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Paula Rego, Henry Moore, Ceri Richards and Henri Matisse.
Parsifal, 1891 by Odilon Redon (1840–1916)
The exhibition is curated by Dr Mary O’Neill, contributing author to ‘Henry Scott Tuke’, Professor Christiana Payne, previously curator of Landscape and Imagination at Compton Verney and author of ‘Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings and Watercolours’, and Victoria Partridge, Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art at The Higgins Bedford.
A full colour catalogue will be available to buy in the shop.
Talks & Tours
The Princess, about 1870 by Edward William Wyon (1811–1885)
Rhyme and Reason Exhibition Tours
Thursday 26 November and Thursday 25 February, 12pm-12.30pm
Tickets £3.95 per person, concessions £3.35,
Booking Essential
Join the Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art for a half hour tour of some of the highlights of the exhibition.
Rhyme and Reason Study Day
Saturday 13 February 11am-4pm
Tickets £20 – tea / coffee on arrival
Booking Essential
Join us for a day exploring the themes of Rhyme & Reason with the exhibition’s curators. The day will start with a tour of the exhibition by Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art, Victoria Partridge, followed by talks by Professor Christiana Payne and Dr Mary O’Neill.