Description
This major new book explores what the term ‘Newlyn School’ really means, celebrating the colony’s unique and vital role in British art history while exploring its national and international context. From its beginnings firmly rooted in plein-air rural realism, capturing the lives of the local fishing and farming communities with exquisite beauty and often heart-rending veracity, we see how this remote Cornish art colony was the crucible for pioneering artists of both genders to shape the history of British art.
Drawing mainly on the extensive holdings of Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance, and the Bowerman Collection (privately collected art for public benefit). The sumptuous illustrations feature works by leading members of the core ‘School’, including Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes, Walter Langley, Frank Bramley and Edwin Harris, together with paintings by much-loved artists from the second flowering of the colony, such as Dod Procter, SJ ‘Lamorna’ Birch and Dame Laura Knight.
With over 150 colour illustrations, the publication includes almost all of the major paintings in the two most important collections of Newlyn School works: Penlee House Gallery & Museum and The Bowerman Collection, together with key works from other public holdings.
About the author
Alison Bevan gained unparalleled knowledge about the Newlyn School during her 14-year tenure as Director of Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, which specialises in the work of the Newlyn and Lamorna art colonies. During this period, she spearheaded the development of Penlee House’s collection, leading to her being awarded a British Empire Medal for services to Cultural Heritage in Cornwall. She subsequently became Director of the Royal West of England Academy of Art (RWA) in Bristol, where many of the Newlyn artists were Academicians. Since July 2024, she has been a freelance lecturer and curator, and is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Bristol.
