Norman Cornish
Norman Cornish | |
|---|---|
 "Berriman's Chip Van" by Norman Cornish | |
| Born | 18 November 1919 |
| Died | 1 August 2014 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Spouse | Sarah |
| Children | 2 |
Norman Stansfield Cornish (18 November 1919 – 1 August 2014) was an English miner and an artist, particularly in the field of painting, focusing on mining life and community.
Biography
[edit]Norman Cornish was born in 1919 at the Spennymoor Settlement in County Durham in North East England.[1] Cornish started work as a miner in 1933, at the age of 14.[2] He continued to work as a miner even after his painting career was established, until he retired as a miner and became a full-time artist in 1966.[2]
Married to Sarah, the couple had two children, John and Ann.[3] Cornish died in 2014.[1]
Career
[edit]Cornish joined the "Pitman's Academy" art school at the age of 15, becoming known as a "pit painter", and was the last surviving member of the Spennymoor institute.[1][4] A former miner,[5] he was known for his pictures of mining community life.[6] Other artistic contemporaries of Cornish from the Spennymoor Settlement included Herbert Dees, Robert Heslop and Tom McGuinness.[7]
Cornish was granted an honorary Master of Arts degree by Newcastle University in 1974,[2] and an honorary doctorate by Sunderland University in 2012.[8] He was a contemporary and friend of the artist L. S. Lowry.[8]
Artworks
[edit]Cornish's 22 in × 29 in (560 mm × 740 mm) painting, "Bar Scene" was found to contain a self-portrait of the artist on the enclosed back side of the canvas in 2024. Potentially unknown for 60 years, the self-portrait is the 29th known of Cornish.[1]
Legacy
[edit]To mark the 100th anniversary of Cornish's birth, the Bowes Museum organised the first "major retrospective" of Cornish's work. The exhibition was scheduled to run from November 2019 to February 2020.[9] An exhibition of some of Cornish's 269 sketchbooks was scheduled for display over the same period at Durham University's Palace Green Library.[10]
In 2019, a 'Norman Cornish Trail' was created in Spennymoor to allow people to follow a 1.5 mile route to view many of the scenes painted by Cornish.[11]
A room within the art gallery at Spennymoor Town Hall has been dedicated to exhibiting paintings by Cornish.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Masih, Niha (21 July 2024). "'Magical' self-portrait was hidden for decades - until the canvas was flipped". The Seattle Times. The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Norman Cornish - obituary". Daily Telegraph. 3 August 2014.
- ^ McNay, Michael (1 August 2014). "Norman Cornish obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ "Last 'Pitman painter' Norman Cornish dies aged 94". BBC News. 2 August 2014.
- ^ "The Art of Norman Cornish". BBC News. September 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ Sid Chaplin (24 May 1960). "From the archive, 24 May 1960: The narrow world of Norman Cornish". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Celebrated County Durham artist Norman Cornish dies aged 94". The Northern Echo. 3 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Honour for artist Norman Cornish". ITV.com. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Miner artist's works in 'major' retrospective". BBC News. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Sketches from miner-turned-artist to go on show". BBS News. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ MacFarlane, Katie (6 April 2019). "Legacy created for Norman Cornish on centenary of his birth". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "A hub of culture and creativity". Welcome to Durham Tees Valley. 16 April 2021. p. 51. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
External links
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