work

Galleries and Reading Room

Library

Shop

Café

Please note, due to essential maintenance work to our systems, you will be unable to request items in our collections; apply for, renew or pre-register for a library membership; or use our computers, laptops and printers from 06:00 on Saturday 12 July until 06:00 on Sunday 13 July. Our library will remain open as usual. Thank you for your understanding.

We're running paid user research studies to improve Wellcome Collection online

Take part in research

Painting of a flower in blue and red. Creator's name, date of creation and interpretation inscribed on the reverse, probably by Edward Adamson. 'Doctor Yates' in the inscription likely refers to Dr. Sybille Yates who died at Netherne in 1967.

Adamson Collection

Identified works created in Adamson's studios

Works by Bishop, Mary

A woman wearing a red dress dancing on the left and a woman hanging from gallows on a black ground on the right

Two tall grey stick-figures, one with nose and mouth, the other eyes and mouth, pointing down at a small person seated cross-legged with head bowed in red

A skeletal person seated cross-legged with head bowed in red

A black ground

A person with blonde hair holding a green shape, possibly an iguana

The head of a woman with a frog and a snake underneath

A head with large blue eyes

An eye and a mouth

A huntsman in green holds a bow and arrow in a forest, next to a goat

A man and a woman in formal wear seated at a table with a green skeleton on a black, red, green and blue background underneath

A judge looking over a crowd of figures in silhouette and a man in blue shepherding a white goat to the right

A person standing with arms and legs outstretched in brown

"This will ruin you! But its all in the [interests] of Science"

A woman standing in a burning street

A woman holding her head in her hands with a window above on a black ground

A naked man wrestling with a tiger on a green ground

A humanoid figure squatting with arms raised, surrounded by red diagonal lines

Men and women dancing in couples

A witch jabs a long sharp finger at a young woman hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk

A man standing holding a multiple tailed whip

A nun in a mountainous landscape falling from a high ledge

Men and women ascending naked in a gulf between two black spaces

A woman wearing a green dress hanging from a brown tree

A naked woman being bitten in the torso by a brown fox

A pair of blue birds nesting in treetops with a red fox below

A woman in a corseted dress between brown trees on a green ground

A man in a monk's habit with a black bird to the right and a grey tree behind

A man in a monk's habit with a green tree behind

A person kneeling with hands raised and a hand above

"Washed up"

A bird in flight towards a moon in a black sky

'I would like a good doctor I could trust"

"Don't you see that I am all alone"

'Help me"

A woman wearing a green dress seated on a bed with a window behind her on a black ground

A man seen from behind kneeling in prayer among mountains

A skeleton wearing a blue jumpsuit on a raft with flag showing RAF ensign in the ocean

A man with red eyes kneeling with arms raised and the outlines of mountains in the background

A naked figure seen from behind praises the sun on a dark brown, purple and black ground

A man, possibly Jesus Christ,  crucified wearing dark purple robes

Black waves

A woman covering her eyes as she walks along a black path at the foot of a high stairway on a ground of blue, green, brown and black rectangular shapes

A woman bowed down before a high stairway arising between two black spaces

A woman in purple approaching a well near a gothic style building

A nude human figure with arms raised on a dark black and blue ground

A person standing manacled to the walls and floor of a gabled cell against a black ground

A woman falling down a gulf between a dark blue and black space

Head of a man being strangled by a green snake coiled around his neck

Head of a man being strangled by another man behind him

Head and shoulders of a person with a green snake wrapped around the neck

A drowning woman throwing up her arms

A woman standing with arms raised and knees bent surrounded by black blotches

Sadist in the white coat

A blonde woman wearing a blue dress being held and impaled by a larger humanoid figure

A blonde woman wearing a dress and holding a bouquet of flowers held by a larger humanoid figure

A woman standing next to a tree and five windows on a black ground

A smiling woman with a child stretching out its arms in embrace on a black ground

A woman in a green dress lying face down on a dark purple, red, green and black ground

Silhouettes of two figures holding clubs and a small green lizard

A person standing on the apex of a church steeple on a ground of shades of dark blue

Head with spiky hair looking through a gap in their fingers

A person sitting cross legged burying their face in their crossed arms, surrounded by black loops

Two men in striped robes holding a woman by the wrists about to throw her into a fire, watched by two other people

Three scenes showing a white bird being killed by a hunter and drained of blood on a table

White bird in flight on a black and red ground

A woman bowing down before a three-headed monster

A woman crucified on a Y-shaped cross on a dark purple, green, pink and black ground

Drawing of a woman with three faces and hands raised in multiple colours

A purple face with jagged green and yellow hair, and with crossed hands raised in front of the face

A woman with a weight attached to her neck by a chain with a body of water to her left on a pink and purple ground

Cri de Coeur

A naked woman with two witches to her left and a large hand to the right, on a pink, green, purple and black ground

A kneeling man raises his hands on a dark green, pink, purple and black ground

Blonde woman lying with head forward on a black ground with pale round moon in sky

A broken bowl

A crowd in a London street walking past an underground station

A girl standing with her arms raised against a background of multiple brick walls

A woman wearing a green robe and a yellow headdress burying her face in her hands on a dark purple ground

A barefoot woman bowing down with crossed arms on a dark blue, green, purple and black background

Head and shoulders with hands raised in yellow on pink ground

Red zigzags and loops

A blindfolded woman in purple illuminated by a lantern hanging from branches on a black ground

A man crucified on an X-shaped cross on a dark brown, red and black ground

Human figure standing with limbs, neck and torso twisted

Head with arms raised to spiky hair in blue and purple

A woman in purple and blue face down on a red and black ground

Two arms stretched out among red and green stars

A woman crying with a barred window behind her on a black ground

Two humanoid figures grasping at each other in red and purple

A naked person standing on a red road that is barred by a row of vertical black and beige arrows which leads to a pink sun on a purple ground

Person with arms raised above head on purple and pink ground

Head and torso of a person with hands covering face in pink and blue on a purple ground

Head and torso of a woman with arms raised in green on a purple ground

A woman with raised arms in purple

Person with arms raised above head on red ground

A woman with arms raised amongst green waves and a black sail boat against a red sky

A girl with a downturned mouth raising her hands in pink on a purple ground

Five hands in red and purple surrounded by red droplets

A woman with two pairs of arms, one pair raised, the other covering her eyes, in pink and red on a purple ground

A woman wearing a pink dress standing with six flowers at her feet on a purple ground

"Not wanting to go down the hole"

"Two eyes crossing"

"Two eyes ('I's) meeting"

Red diagonal lines, droplets and a snowflake shape

A snowflake shape in purple and brown

A woman seated with crossed arms among mountains in the desert with a purple sky

A woman standing with crossed arms among brown mountains against a purple sky

"Dead beat"

Red and purple droplets

'Revolt against my mother"

"Revolt against my mother"

The heads of two wolves facing towards each other

Two brown concentric circles

Concentric circles in red and purple

'Three tormented heads joined"

Circle outlined in red with radiant straight lines spreading outwards

Three purple flowers on spiky stems

A red and purple flower surrounded by purple vertical lines and crosses

'And the dove found no resting place on the waters"

"I have been dying"

'I don't want to be a girl in a town; I don't like men"

'I can't fucking well do a bloody thing more"

'I always wanted someone to love"

A woman bowing her head and holding out her arms, standing below purple and black round shapes

'The desolation with tears"

"Bewildered in a fog of accusations and mire"

'A tree that has been damaged"

'A soul strangled by anger and the fear of death"

'A deluge of despair at the thought of my mother"

"Myself as a child holding up the weight of my sick mother"

'I accuse myself"

Head and torso of a monk

A woman in purple with green hair, standing in front of a weeping willow with green branches, both on a white background with dark grey and purple sky

Rounded mesh in purple and an eye

"The weak one & the strong one"

Diagonal purple lines and darts emerging from a central stem bordered by eyes in white and purple

"The monk who fell in love with a nun & was changed into a turkey"

"My hands are tied"

"Human life is finished but life of a sort goes on"

"Fear of the sea"

"A passionate child"

"A sad memory"

"A painful memory"

Three large hands clawing at a small human figure on a red ground

"Mindless Fury"

'Pilgrim's progress"

'The personalities"

"Two personalities"

"A nun who has broken her vows"

"Overcome with shame & asking for help & mercy"

"Two personalities jammed together"

"Exhausted"

"Completely hopeless with no help"

"Trying to paddle a canoe alone through great danger"'

'Given up as hopeless"

"Shame"

"Making a loud noise on a trumpet"

'St John in the wilderness"

"Discord"

"The Gathering Storm"

"Two opposing eyes looking at each other"

Stacked red and purple triangles

Fox swimming"

The moon over a field in purple

'The cold unhappy woman with clouds of hate puffing icy winds on her"

'Woman caught in the web of Rosa Jackson's spite"

"Lady with a snake"

Facial features in purple with red crosses through the eyes

Facial features, droplets and two hands suggesting a person crying, and an arch formed of purple grids and diagonals

"Alone in a storm"

Two eyes in purple crossed through in red

"Snakes"

'The nun is filled with horror"

"The man is pierced with shame and all is horror from the neck down"

"The desparing woman"

"Portcullis of death"

"A child wishing for love from its parents"

Eyes, nose, mouth and sides of face in red and purple

A face in red and purple expressing horror

"Hopeless eyes"

"The cat learning to deal with other animals"

"Eyes which cannot see"

"The cat is afraid of being grabbed"

Two red heads in profile, staring at each other, and a series of red and purple diagonal lines

'A clenched fist in absolute fury"

Collection contents

About this work

Also known as

Description

Publication/Creation

Physical description

Contributors

Arrangement

Notes

Subjects

Where to find it

Permanent link