Cornish Masters showcases the work of the leading British artists of almost a century when Cornwall was at the forefront of artistic development in the country; from the establishment of the Newlyn School of en plein-air painters in the 1880s to the rise of the St Ives School of abstract artists in the 1950s and 1960s. Explore online (we'll answer any enquiries within 24 hours) or visit our St Ives Art Gallery in the centre of St Ives, or book a private viewing in Falmouth.
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Celebrating Portraiture
A remarkable talent within the Newlyn School-
Edwin Harris
Betsy Lanyon, c. 1884Betsy Lanyon, a favourite model of Edwin Harris and Walter Langley, at the age of 84 declared herself 'Artists' Model' (formerly 'fish wife') in the 1891 census.
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Frank Bramley
Femme avec châle, 1881-82Frank Bramley's exquisite portrait whilst he summered in Pont Aven. His sitter's glance has an almost Vermeer-like quality. Tom Cross (The Shining Sands) rated Bramley ".... the most talented of the Newlyn artists.”
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Edwin Harris
The Fisherman's Rest, c. 1885The Fishernmen's Rest remains to the present day on the medieval Old Quay at Newlyn. Edwin Harris's portrait is full of poignancy; the fisherman fully attired in sou'wester and oil skins glancing pensively out to sea, pipe in hand.
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St Ives School
The Modernists-
Paul Feiler
1918 - 2013"The emptiness had a great effect on me. It was the visual experience that gave me the sense of reality that is so remote".
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Terry Frost
1915 - 2003"with the sea on three sides …. I can see the sun rise and the sun set from where I am every day. I’m with the gods".
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Peter Lanyon
1918 - 1964"I believe in the subject of awareness in myself of place and time and in abstraction as the process of making".
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Christopher Wood
1901 - 1930"... the coastline is arid with huge rocks and towering black cliffs, and little coves and creeks with the greenest water you ever saw".
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John Wells
1907 - 2000"... how can one paint the warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea or the journey of a beetle across a rock or thoughts of one's own whence and whither?"
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Adrian Heath
1920 - 1992“I was anxious to get away from what I was looking at … and to make the simplifications objective and not due to the whim of emotional mood".
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Michael Canney
1923 - 1999"The essential principle is that ... nothing extraneous is added. In this limitation lies the creative challenge”.
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Trevor Bell
1930 - 2017" ... not describing or alluding to anything else, but I wanted to re-create a strangeness and power of imagery I find in the North"
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Bryan Wynter
1915 - 1975“I find it helpful to think of that moment at which the eye looks out at the world it has not yet recognised.”
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St Ives School
The Impressionists-
John Anthony Park
1878 - 1962"the best of English colourists and unsurpassed as a painter of light. He painted like an angel".
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Dorothea Sharp
1873 - 1955"Dorothea’s pictures suggest a near perfect way of life which can be imagined to have existed before the First World War".
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Julius Olsson
1864 - 1942“He did more than any other painter to stamp St Ives as a British outpost of impressionism".
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Newlyn School
The en plein-air painters-
Stanhope Alexander Forbes
'Father' of the Newlyn School of Artists 1857 - 1947Paintings for sale by Stanhope Alexander Forbes 1857 - 1947, father of the Newlyn School of artists -
Walter Langley
Pioneer of the Newlyn Colony 1852 - 1922Paintings for sale by Walter Langley, 1852 - 1922, pioneer of the Newlyn School of artists. -
Frank Bramley
"arguably the most talented and dedicated of the Newlyn artists.” 1857 - 1915Discover paintings by Frank Bramley, 1857-1915. Described as "he most talented and dedicated of the Newlyn artists" Bramley trained under Charles Verlat at the Royal Academy of Antwerp before arriving in Newlyn in 1884, where he became one of the defining artists along with Forbes and Langley. -
Harold Harvey
Most gifted Cornish-born Newlyn artist 1874 - 1941Paintings for sale by Harold Harvey, 1874 - 1941, of the Newlyn School of artists. Harold Harvey was the most gifted of the Cornish-born Newlyn artists and his ever changing style traces the progression of British art at the start of the 20th century. -
Edwin Harris
Pioneer of the Newlyn colony 1855 - 1906Paintings for sale by Edwin Harris, 1855 - 1906, pioneer of the Newlyn School of artists. Harris was one of the finest and most sensitive portrait painters within the Newlyn colony of artists. -
Henry Scott Tuke
Founder of Newlyn before settling in Falmouth 1858 - 1929Paintings for sale by Henry Scott Tuke, 1858 - 1929, Falmouth artist. -
Lamorna Birch
Founder of the Lamorna colony of artists 1869 - 1955Paintings for sale by Lamorna Birch, 1869 - 1955, father of the Lamorna colony of artists. Samuel John Lamorna Birch was a prolific landscape painter with 237 works exhibited at the Royal Academy. -
Frank Richards
Founding member of the Newlyn School 1863 - 1935Paintings for sale by Frank Richards, 1863 - 1935, Newlyn School artist. -
Henry Meynell Rheam
Hon Secretary of the Newlyn Society of Artists 1859 - 1920Paintings for sale by Henry Meynell Rheam, 1859-1920, member of the Newlyn School and one of its most gifted water colourists. Rheam was Honourary Secretary of the Newlyn Society of Artists.
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Falmouth
The Marine Artists-
Frank Brangwyn
1867 - 1956"The whole harbour was filled with boats and men getting ready for the fishing; it was a sight that knocked me silly"
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Charles Napier Hemy
1841 - 1917"I have built my house here (Falmouth) so as to paint nothing but sea and ships and do them always from nature. It is sad not to be in London but I think Falmouth is better than Venice."
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Contemporary
Artists active post-1990
