When Clio David was growing up, her mother’s studio was a private, off-limits space. The wooden outbuilding, located in the apple orchards around her family’s home in south Devon, had once been a dormitory at Dartington Hall, a progressive school where Clio’s father taught in the 1960s. Her mother, Yasmin, would go there every day to paint and work, and no one was allowed inside. "The walls of our house were covered in her paintings, but the studio was a private place," says Clio. Yasmin’s family had a long history of artistic and intellectual connections. Her mother, Lorna, was part of the Garman family, known for their ties to notable figures like Peggy Guggenheim and Vita Sackville-West. Lorna married Ernest Wishart, a wealthy communist and co-founder of the publishing house Lawrence & Wishart, and had a romantic relationship with artist Lucian Freud, who painted her before marrying her niece, Kitty. Yasmin, whose biological father was writer Laurie Lee, discovered this connection at 19. Lee dedicated his 1944 poetry collection, The Sun My Monument, to her mother and to "Y," a symbol representing the union of Laurie and Lorna’s names. Yasmin left London and art school at 23, moving to rural Devon with her husband, Julian David, who became a Jungian analyst. She lived on Luscombe farm for much of her life, and the full extent of her artistic talent was only discovered after her death. While going through her mother’s belongings, Clio found more than 200 canvases and 550 works on paper neatly stored in a cupboard—vivid, introspective paintings of the local moorland, woods, and rivers, illuminated by ethereal light. There were also letters from Yasmin’s father, poetry, and nature writing. A selection of these works were displayed in a memorial exhibition at the New Art Gallery Walsall in 2021. The gallery, built by Lorna’s sister, Kathleen Garman, was originally intended to showcase the work of her husband, sculptor Jacob Epstein. This month, Yasmin’s work is the focus of a solo exhibition at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton, about 40 miles from her home in Luscombe. Titled The Nature of Light, the show features over 40 paintings, along with drawings, sketches, notebooks, and photographs. Curator Gemma Girvan notes that displaying Yasmin’s work in this location connects it to the landscape that inspired it. "Yasmin lived and worked on the edge of Dartmoor, and many of the landscapes she painted will be instantly familiar to our local audiences," she says. The exhibition also aims to highlight the contributions of under-recognized female artists, including Thelma Hulbert, after whom the gallery is named. Art historian Sophie Hatchwell, who will give a talk on Yasmin’s work during the exhibition, compares her art to that of Joan Eardley, Barbara Delaney, and Gillian Ayres. She says Yasmin’s work offers a fresh perspective on British landscapes, moving beyond the traditional view of nature as something to be conquered. As the British art world confronts its history of institutional bias and sexism, it is increasingly recognizing the significance of female artists inspired by nature. Exhibitions like A View of One’s Own: Landscapes by British Women Artists at The Courtauld Gallery in London this spring reflect this shift. Clio David, a documentary filmmaker based in London, is now working with academics at the Courtauld Institute to ensure Yasmin’s contributions to landscape painting are acknowledged. "She was one of the few women working in landscape during the latter part of the 20th century, and I want to place her archive within that period of art history," Clio says. Yasmin’s unique background—living in a family where women often supported men in creative endeavors—adds to the importance of highlighting her work. Clio hopes that by showcasing Yasmin’s art, it will also change the narrative of a family historically dominated by male artists and writers. Yasmin David: The Nature of Light is on display at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton until 31 October.