Just off Newcastle’s bustling high street is St Mary’s Place, a quiet road connecting the city’s two universities, where Norman Cornish’s work has been exhibited regularly for over 50 years. Now established in our new premises on the street, Gallagher & Turner are proud to continue this tradition with a new exhibition celebrating Cornish’s relationship with the city.
Cornish’s work first appeared on the street at the Stone Gallery in 1959, where LS Lowry and Sheila Fell were also regular exhibitors. When persistent back problems forced Cornish to leave the pits after 33 years as an underground miner, it was the income from sales at the Stone Gallery, coupled with some part-time teaching work at Sunderland Art College, that allowed him to finally become a professional artist.
In 1989 Cornish’s autobiography, ‘A Slice of Life’, was published coinciding with a major retrospective exhibition at the University Gallery, Northumbria University. Located opposite Newcastle’s imposing Civic Centre, the gallery worked hard over the next 25 years to promote Cornish’s work and reputation nationally, organising large-scale touring exhibitions and publishing several important monographs about his work.
As picture framers to University Gallery, Gallagher & Turner developed a relationship with Cornish when he regularly visited our workshop to give his opinion on framing, and to sign watercolours and drawings. We have continued to work with the late artist’s estate, framing early paintings and restoring large canvases for museum displays, and are pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Cornish’s work in our new Gallery at 30 St Mary’s Place.
‘Cornish on Tyneside’ will feature paintings, watercolours and drawings, many previously unseen, from the artist’s estate. The exhibition includes grand scenes of the River Tyne, detailed studies of Newcastle’s buildings, and energetic portraits in local pubs. The ‘narrow world’ of pigeon crees and pit roads is expanded, demonstrating Norman’s enthusiasm for exploring and engaging with the world around him.
All works will be available for sale.
(Image: Norman Cornish, Sailors' Bethel, Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne, Ink and watercolour on paper)
