The Bowes Museum is honoured to be holding the first major retrospective by one of the most loved artists from the North East of England in the 20th Century; Norman Cornish: The Definitive Collection, opening almost 100 years to the day after the artist’s birth in Spennymoor.
The exhibition which features more than 70 works including pastels, charcoals and oil paintings from both public and private collections, attracted hundreds of people on its opening weekend.
Norman Cornish’s work has an enduring popularity and leaves a wonderful legacy – an immediate and accessible social documentary of a bygone era. Dr Howard Coutts, from The Bowes Museum, said: “We are truly honoured to be holding this first major retrospective of works by Norman Cornish. His chronicles of life in a bygone era are captivating and draw you into the scene that he’s portraying.”
Norman Cornish chronicled the everyday life of his community, including many street scenes and as such visitors to the exhibition are being invited to take a photograph of their street to be shown alongside Norman’s work in the exhibition.
The Cornish family has kindly donated a framed copy of Berrimans Chip Van to be given to the person who takes the best photograph, with runners up getting a family day pass for The Bowes Museum. Entries can be sent to yourstreet@thebowesmuseum.org.uk with a closing date of February 23, 2020.
The Museum is also holding a day of celebration to coincide with Kids in Museums Day on 21 November, when around 150 school children from five schools will enjoy a Music Day where they’ll take part in a carousel of events to create sounds, words and visual art in response to the exhibition. This event is supported by Arts Council England.
Junkman musician Donald Knaack will work with the children to recreate the atmosphere depicted in some of the paintings, visual artist Vicky Holbrough will get them up and moving to produce a Doodle Dance and thanks to support from Arts Council England they’ll create rap poetry with Tony Gadd before putting on a performance in the Blue Picture Gallery at 3:30.
This is the start of a project funded through TAAP and Northern Heartlands which will see the Museum’s Education team outreach working with the schools in Butterknowle, Cockfield, Evenwood, Ramshaw and Woodland in January before visiting the Cornish Sketchbooks on display in Palace Green.
A series of public events have been scheduled to take place over the duration of the exhibition including:
Rewinding the Welfare State: A Social History of the North East on Film
23 November, 2.15-3.45
£5.00
Join us on an interactive cinematic journey through the social development of the North East region from WW2 to today. Dr Ben Lamb from Teesside University will introduce each film and together we’ll talk about what makes the social character of our area so distinctive. You’ll be invited to share your memories about how accessing healthcare, housing, education and other human rights have changed over the years and reflect on what we can learn from the past to improve our future.
This screening is brought to you by the North East Film Archive, as part of their North East on Film project connecting the people and communities of the region with their film heritage, in partnership with Teesside University. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Teesside University.
The Quintessential Cornish
26 November, 2.15
Join Norman Cornish’ biographers Gillian Wales and Dr Bob McManners for a fascinating talk about his life and work. Their book The Quintessential Cornish, the authorised biography was originally published to coincide with Norman’s 90th birthday and has been reprinted to celebrate his Centenary Year.
Norman Cornish Gallery Talk
28 November, 2.15
Join Dr. Howard Coutts for a short introduction to the Norman Cornish exhibition.
Behind The Scenes: The Norman Cornish Centenary Lecture
11 January, 2.15
Booking required
Norman Cornish MBE was perhaps the most significant artist to emerge from the North East of England in the 20th Century. Through his work, he recorded one of the most important passages in English history. As part of the regional celebrations of his centenary, his son-in-law Mike Thornton will present this illustrated talk. Revealing predominantly unseen works, it will cover many of the key moments in the artist’s career, including important commissions such as The Durham Miners Gala Mural and his works for The Port of Tyne Authority. Mike will also share images of life in Norman’s family home of Spennymoor during the 1950s and 60s and works from his trip to Paris in 1967. This is a story of the artist’s great determination and resilience to overcome adversity and prejudice to become one of the region’s most celebrated artists.
Community art workshops, delivered by artist Vicky Holbrough.
Butterknowle Village Hall
18 January, 10 – 12 and 1 – 3
Free
10-12 Create a portrait, using drawing materials and pastels – participants will create a self-portrait in the style of Norman Cornish.
1 – 3 Make your very own sketchbook, using paper-folding techniques and then use fineliners and marker pens to create Norman Cornish style sketches.
Booking advised email education@thebowesmuseum.org.uk for more details.
Beginners Pastels
18 January, 10 – 12noon
£25.00
Norman Cornish’ pastel technique is reminiscent of Toulouse, Lautrec & Degas, invoking the landscape and atmosphere of the mining community where he lived. Join artist Gavin Watson to learn how to create pastel drawings inspired by your surroundings and the current Norman Cornish exhibition.
Developing a Personal Sketchbook
18 January, 1.30 – 4
£35.00
Norman Cornish’ sketchbooks are an amazing record of the everyday beauty and stark realities of life in mining communities. This workshop will look at how he used his sketchbook as a filter on his world and how he developed his drawings into larger paintings. Sketching in and around the Museum, in this session you will learn how to develop a personalised sketchbook as a method of collecting and filtering the inspirational world around you.
Tony Gadd Workshop
19 January, 1 – 3
Free but booking required
Join performance poet Tony Gadd for a fun and informal writing workshop inspired by the Norman Cornish exhibition.
Community art workshops, delivered by artist Vicky Holbrough.
Randolph Centre, Evenwood
25 January,
Free
10-12 Create a portrait, using drawing materials and pastels – participants will create a self portrait in the style of Norman Cornish.
1 – 3 Make your very own sketchbook, using paper-folding techniques and then use fineliners and marker pens to create Norman Cornish style sketches.
Booking advised email education@thebowesmuseum.org.uk for more details.
Norman Cornish Gallery Talk
27 January, 2.15
Join Dr. Howard Coutts for a short introduction to the Norman Cornish exhibition.
Norman Cornish night at the Old Well Inn, Barnard Castle
30 January, from 8.30
Free drop in event
Join us for a special open mic night inspired by Norman Cornish. Performance poet Tony Gadd will headline, joined by poets reading their work created at the recent workshop and fantastic local musicians. This will be a popular evening, so be sure to get there early to get a seat.
Free community art workshops, delivered by artist Vicky Holbrough.
Cockfield Community Cafe
1 February
Free
10-12 Create a portrait, using drawing materials and pastels – participants will create a self portrait in the style of Norman Cornish.
1 – 3 Make your very own sketchbook, using paper-folding techniques and then use fineliners and marker pens to create Norman Cornish style sketches.
Booking advised email education@thebowesmuseum.org.uk for more details.
Randolph Centre, Evenwood
Free community art workshops, delivered by artist Vicky Holbrough.
Woodland Village Hall
8 February
Free
10-12 Create a portrait, using drawing materials and pastels – participants will create a self portrait in the style of Norman Cornish.
1 – 3 Make your very own sketchbook, using paper-folding techniques and then use fineliners and marker pens to create Norman Cornish style sketches.
Booking advised email education@thebowesmuseum.org.uk for more details.
Entry to these events is included in the normal admission price of the Museum unless otherwise stated.
If you are still looking for Christmas presents a trip to Bowes Museum Shop may provide you with the perfect gift. The shop is currently stocking a range of Norman Cornish’s work in prints and copies of the family’s book celebrating his work, Behind the Scenes.
Both prints and the book are also available on line at www.normancornish.com
As part of a year-round celebration of the centenary of Norman Cornish’s birth, a further exhibition dedicated to Norman Cornish’s prolific sketching opened this weekend too.
Durham University’s Palace Green Library (The Norman Cornish Sketchbooks, 16th November – 23rd February 2020) For Norman Cornish, sketching was second nature; an inherent part of his everyday life which generated 269 sketchbooks as well as may quick sketches on the backs of chocolate boxes or magazines or whatever came to hand.
This special exhibition of little seen sketchbooks presents a new dimension to the artist’s practice, focusing on his observations of life, landscapes and family, revealing the inner artistic processes behind some of his most iconic works.
More information on the artist and the Norman Cornish Centenary events can be found at www.normancornish.com /centenary
The Norman Cornish Centenary Exhibition programme is supported by Arts Council England National Lottery Fund.
