Double delight for for centenary of
TWO EXHIBITIONS ARE LINED UP TO CELEBRATE THE
CENTENARY celebrations in honour of one of the North East’s best-loved artists, Norman Cornish, are culminating in two exhibitions.
Both open on Saturday, almost 100 years to the day since his birth in Spennymoor, County Durham, on November 18, 1919.
They include the first major retrospective of his work, which can be seen at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, while at Palace Green Library in Durham some of his 269 sketchbooks are to go on public display.
At the Bowes Museum, visitors to Norman Cornish: The Definitive Collection will be able to see more than 60 works including, pastels, charcoals and oil paintings from both public and private collections, some of which are previously unseen.
At Palace Green Library the littleseen sketchbooks by Cornish will offer an intimate insight into the work and mind of the acclaimed North East artist.
Before his death in 2014, Mr Cornish said he hoped his sketchbooks would “have a life of their own and be of interest to people”.
His studio at his home in Spennymoor contained 269 sketchbooks, containing a huge range of images, from quick sketches to finished drawings. Norman Cornish: The Sketchbooks features some of these treasures.
Some of the 50 sketchbooks and loose drawings also link directly to paintings featured in the exhibition, showing the progression from an initial observation through a series of steps to a finished work.
Liz Waller, director of collections at Durham University, said: “Norman Cornish is an icon of North East life and art. We feel honoured to be part of celebrating the centenary of his birth and privileged to be hosting this very special exhibition.
“We’re sure it will be of interest to both art enthusiasts and those who fondly remember the period Norman painted. We’re also looking forward to helping introduce a new generation to his work, and we’ll be running workshops to assist this.”
Cornish’s son, John Cornish, said: “My father’s sketchbooks offer an extraordinary insight into his world. For him, drawing was a compulsion.
“His sketchbooks contain a wealth of interesting images, including spontaneous character studies and bar scenes. Some sketches are preparatory pieces for larger paintings.”
At 14, Cornish followed in family footsteps by becoming a miner, and he spent four decades in that job. His artistic ability found fulfilment when he joined the Sketching Club at the Spennymoor Settlement, were the warden, told him to “paint what you know”.
Alongside work related to mining communities, the Bowes Museum show will include some of his commissions, which ranged from portraits and industrial scenes to a visit to Paris for Tyne Tees Television.
It runs at the museum until February 23, with admission from £5.
The late artist Norman Cornish