The Holburne is the only European venue for Shaw’s major retrospective at the Yale Center for British Art. It covers his career from 1996 to the present, including some new works never shown in the UK.

Shaw’s paintings, made with enamel model paint, focus on the Tile Hill estate, a post-war development on the outskirts of Coventry where he grew up, and the ancient woods surrounding it. Steeped in modern and historic fine art traditions, Shaw’s work alludes to twentieth-century painting and photography, and the legacy of such European masters as Titian. The exhibition also features his skills as a draughtsman.

The exhibition has been organized by the Yale Center for British Art in collaboration with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and the Holburne Museum.