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The novelist, Virginia Woolf once made an observation that literature has ‘done its best to maintain that its concern is with the mind; that the body is a sheet of plain glass through which the soul looks straight and clear.'


Similarly, the visual art - whether academic conventions or the study of the ideal - tends to focus on interpretation of the mind rather than the body. The human body is used merely as a vehicle to convey the deeper spiritual meanings, inner thoughts or emotions of the artist. This virtual exhibition brings together a group of works by the artists who explore this conflict between the mind and the body that is both deeply personal and universal to challenge our perception of the human body.

45 artworks
Red Landscape with Figures
© the estate of Keith Vaughan. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Red Landscape with Figures 1964

John Keith Vaughan (1912–1977)

Oil on canvas

H 122.2 x W 91.8 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Still Point
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Still Point 1993

Gwen Hardie (b.1962)

Oil on canvas

H 200 x W 200 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Falling from Grace
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Falling from Grace 1991

Gwen Hardie (b.1962)

Oil on canvas

H 200 x W 200 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Restraining Coat II (Female)
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Restraining Coat II (Female) 1995

Julie Roberts (b.1963)

Oil & acrylic on canvas

H 152.4 x W 152.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Cherries, Forbidden Fruit and Pear in a Landscape
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Cherries, Forbidden Fruit and Pear in a Landscape 1991

Alison Watt (b.1965)

Oil on canvas

H 152 x W 60.6 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Torso 1932

Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Pope I (Study after Pope Innocent X by Diego Velázquez)
© The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Pope I (Study after Pope Innocent X by Diego Velázquez) 1951

Francis Bacon (1909–1992)

Oil on canvas

H 197.8 x W 137.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Study No. 6 (Head and Teeth) 1978

Clive Barker (b.1940)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

J. Y. M. Seated
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

J. Y. M. Seated 1976

Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)

Oil on board

H 50.8 x W 45.8 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

L'homme qui marche 1877

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Iris 1976

Gavin Scobie (1940–2012)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Torso 1923

Frank Dobson (1886–1963)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Green Chemise
© by permission of the copyright holder. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Green Chemise c.1931

Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith (1879–1959)

Oil on canvas

H 72.4 x W 92.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman with a Cat
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman with a Cat 1944

Jankel Adler (1895–1949)

Oil on canvas

H 112.2 x W 87.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Reclining Nude (II)
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Reclining Nude (II) 1955

William Brooker (1918–1983)

Oil on canvas

H 63.3 x W 76.2 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

An Angel Ascending to Heaven
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

An Angel Ascending to Heaven 1969 & 1983–1989

Angus Menmuir Neil (1924–1992)

Oil on board

H 118.4 x W 118.6 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman in Green
© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman in Green 1949

Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962)

Oil on canvas

H 101.3 x W 51.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Untitled
© Christopher Le Brun. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Untitled 1992

Christopher Le Brun (b.1951)

Oil on canvas

H 160.2 x W 190.2 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Serb and Muslim
© Peter Howson. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Serb and Muslim 1994

Peter Howson (b.1958)

Oil on canvas

H 213.5 x W 152.5 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Group of Figures
© the estate of Keith Vaughan. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Group of Figures 1968

John Keith Vaughan (1912–1977)

Oil on canvas

H 101.5 x W 91.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Threnody
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Threnody c.1970

Robin Philipson (1916–1992)

Oil on hand-collaged paper on canvas

H 185.5 x W 138.8 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Blue Petticoat
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Blue Petticoat c.1912

Spencer Gore (1878–1914)

Oil on canvas

H 35.3 x W 30.1 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman Unknown to Herself
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman Unknown to Herself 1993–1994

Lilian Strang Neilson (1938–1998)

Oil on hardboard

H 122.5 x W 244.7 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Triple Goddess
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Triple Goddess 1989

Arlene Isbister (b.1966)

Waxed acrylic on canvas

H 244 x W 120 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

One of the Stations of the Dead 1933–1937

Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)

Oil on canvas

H 127.6 x W 75.8 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Old Woman in Church
© the Eardley estate. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Old Woman in Church c.1948

Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)

Charcoal on buff paper

H 44 x W 60.7 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Evening Star
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Evening Star c.1940–1944

James Cowie (1886–1956)

Oil on canvas

H 137.5 x W 133.4 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Noon
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Noon 1946

James Cowie (1886–1956)

Oil on canvas

H 57 x W 57 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Girl Holding a Piece of Sewing
Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Girl Holding a Piece of Sewing 1915–1925

Gwen John (1876–1939)

Oil on canvas

H 41 x W 33 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Irish Girl
© estate of Victor Pasmore. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Irish Girl c.1940

Victor Pasmore (1908–1998)

Oil on canvas

H 61.4 x W 51 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Head of a Man
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Head of a Man

Hermann Gross (1904–1988)

Sterling silver

H 37 x W 20 x D 37 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Head of a Young Girl
© the artist. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Head of a Young Girl 1975

Stephen Buckley (b.1944)

Enamel over acrylic on canvas

H 208.2 x W 170.1 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

A Girl's Head
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

A Girl's Head 1925

Clara Klinghoffer (1900–1970)

Oil on canvas

H 45.4 x W 41.1 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Portrait Head
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Portrait Head 1965

Angus Menmuir Neil (1924–1992)

Oil on board

H 51.2 x W 41 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Stretching
© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Stretching 1963

Bernard Dunstan (1920–2017)

Oil on canvas

H 61 x W 51 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Nude
© estate of William Scott 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Nude 1940

William Scott (1913–1989)

Oil on canvas

H 61 x W 50.9 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Woman Resting 1951

Reg Butler (1913–1981)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Screen Relief – Girl 1972

Ralph Brown (1928–2013)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche 1882–1895

Edgar Degas (1834–1917)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Figure 1925–1974

Emilio Greco (1913–1995)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Annunciation 1937–1946

Gwynneth Holt (1909–1995)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Figure on Steps 1956

Henry Moore (1898–1986)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Les trois belles
© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2024. Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Les trois belles 1950

Ossip Zadkine (1890–1967)

Brass

H 78.5 x W 34.5 x D 18 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Uncle Roy

Keith Wilson (b.1965)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Five Set Conversation Pieces 1998

Christine Borland (b.1965) (by or after)

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums