A Warm Visual Dialogue Transcending Time: “Songs of Innocence and Experience, part II” at Ingleby Gallery

On the occasion of Caribbean genius artist Frank Walter’s 100th birthday, Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh hosts a warm visual dialogue transcending time and borders. Taking place between June 20 and September 12, 2026, as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, the exhibition “Songs of Innocence and Experience, part II” brings Walter’s vision into the same room with today’s master brushes.

The da Vinci of Antigua: Frank Walter

Born in Antigua on September 11, 1926, and living a secluded life until his death in 2009, Frank Walter left behind thousands of canvases along with a massive 50,000-page written archive spanning poetry to philosophy, and even nuclear science. Although his works were hardly ever exhibited during his lifetime, the artist—described by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist as “Antigua’s Leonardo da Vinci”—went down in history as one of the most important figures of 20th-century Caribbean art by representing his country at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

A Timeless Conversation on Canvas

Serving as a sequel to Ingleby Gallery’s first exhibition organized after Walter’s passing in 2013, this new selection brings his works together with contemporary figures who never met him in person, yet found a common language through his art:

• A Rich Lineup of Artists: Many prominent figures such as Peter Doig, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Rose Wylie, Alvaro Barrington, Andrew Cranston, Tal R, Aubrey Levinthal, and Cassi Namoda respond to Walter’s world through their own canvases.
• Grand Universes on Small Surfaces: Walter’s tiny landscapes, rainbows, and tree figures rendered on photo paper, polaroid cards, or cardboard intertwine with the sunflowers, birds, and abstract rhythms of the other artists in the exhibition.
• A Universal Bond: The exhibition celebrates the deep respect felt by other artists for Walter’s pure, crystal-clear artistic imagination and a time-transcending artistic kinship.

Serving as the most elegant proof of how works of art—even if created inside a lonely room—can ultimately meet the world and forge new friendships, this exhibition stands as one of the most inspiring stops in Edinburgh running through autumn.