Paintings by the UK’s pioneer of abstract art will be displayed in the West Country | art

The story of one of the UK’s greatest abstract painters drawing inspiration from the ordinary – and the extraordinary meeting he had with an American art giant – is told in a new exhibition in the West Country.

Three large-scale paintings by William Scott (1913-1989) have been loaned to the Somerset Museum in Taunton, near the artist’s home and studio in the countryside south of Bath.

Visitors will also learn about a trip taken by American artist Mark Rothko to Scott’s home in 1959, during which they discussed murals they were working on for a restaurant in New York and a hospital in Northern Ireland.

Tim Martin, the exhibition’s curator, said it was a good opportunity to see Scott’s paintings loaned by the Tate in a place that meant a lot to him and to reflect on an American icon’s visit to the West.

“All three works were painted at the height of Scott’s career in the late 1950s, when he was very confident in what he was doing,” Martin said.

One of the paintings loaned to Somerset – Ocher Still Life – features pots and pans, while another, Black Painting, may be an abstract representation of stone walls.

The exhibition is called Beauty in Simplicity – William Scott in Somerset. The title comes from Scott’s assertion: “I find beauty in clarity.”

Scott met Rothko in New York in the early 1950s. “He was shocked by the size and scope of some of the Abstract Expressionist work being produced in New York,” Martin said. “Scott and Rothko got on well, and in 1959 Rothko traveled to Somerset and stayed with the Scotts.”

Artists are known to have discussed murals. Scott was working on a large mural for the entrance hall of Altnagelvin District Hospital in Derry, Northern Ireland.

When the abstract piece was finally unveiled at the hospital, in front of a large invited audience, the response was said to be an awed silence.

At the time of his visit to Somerset, Rothko was working on murals for a restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York.

After the visit to the West Country, Rothko withdrew from the commission, feeling that the exclusive environment of the restaurant was an inappropriate setting for his artwork. He presented a selection of nine paintings from the series to Tate.

The exhibition runs from 15 November to 7 February 2026. Martin will give a preview of Scott’s life and work at Somerset Museum at 2.30pm on Friday 14 November. Reservation required.