New exhibition at The Higgins Bedford explores women in art

A new exhibition exploring how women have been represented in art over the past two centuries opens at The Higgins Bedford next month.

Called Body & Soul, it will examine how beauty and femininity have been celebrated and challenged through a selection of sculptures, prints, oils and watercolours from the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Collection.

Highlights in the free exhibition - which runs from April 2 to October 2 - include works by Edgar Degas, Edvard Munch, Dora Carrington, Stanley Spencer, Henri Matisse, Gwen John, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucian Freud and Chila Burman.

Professor Christiana Payne, co-curator of the exhibition said: “Working on this exhibition gave us new perspectives on things we thought we knew about - including fashion and femininity - and really made us think about some tricky topical issues, which we hope we have gotten right."

To accompany the exhibition, there will be a series of events including tours, lectures and a study day. A fully coloured catalogue offering an in-depth view of the artworks with essays by the curators will also be available from The Higgins Bedford shop.

For more details visit The Higgins Bedford website