September 19 2025 – January 4 2026
Sculpting the Earth brings together the ceramic works of three little-known women artists of the 20th century: Natalie Bevan, Psiche Hughes and Ann Stokes.
The ceramic art of all three artists finds echoes in the charming, figurative output of 18th-century porcelain factories such as Meissen and Bow, examples of which are held in the Holburne’s own collection. The exhibition highlights an alternative ceramic tradition that challenges established hierarchies of art and craft.
Though her work was rarely exhibited publicly, Ann Stokes (1922-2014) was a well-known presence in a particular circle of the London art world. Her works included vibrant plates and cups intended for use, as well as stand-alone, figurative pieces.
Natalie Bevan (1909–2007), whose clay figures include circus elephants, mythological scenes and domestic subjects, had just one solo exhibition in her lifetime – at the Anthony d’Offay Gallery in 1967. Otherwise, her practice was sustained in private and known largely through her friends and family.
Psiche Hughes’ (1939-2018) ceramic practice saw her produce vibrant, figurative works focused on representational imagery – animals, fruits and vegetables, buildings. Her work, like that of Bevan and Stokes, lies outside the bounds of formal art education, and yet belongs to a clear tradition of humorous ceramic sculpture in the modern period.
Together these three artists demonstrate an intuitive approach to modelling, produceing forms that are humorous and insightful reflections of the external world they saw or imagined.
The Holburne Museum
Great Pulteney Street, Bath, BA2 4DB