West Cornwall enjoys a particularly rich history of outstanding works of art as the catalogue of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly's hidden heritage reveals.Indeed, of the 1,575 works listed in the county as a whole, more than 360 of them can be found in Penwith and Penlee House Gallery & Museum's collection (167) is second only in size to the Royal Cornwall Museum.

At Penlee House, the emphasis is on the Newlyn School painters at the end of the 19th century and the Lamorna Valley from c1900 to 1940. Artists include Stanhope Forbes, his wife Elizabeth, Walter Langley, Harold Harvey, Percy Craft, Laura and Harold Knight and Samuel John "Lamorna" Birch.

Newlyn Art Gallery's role as a contemporary gallery meant that a small collection of Newlyn School paintings collected by former director John Halkes was moved to Penlee House but there is a substantial collection of paintings there of emigre artist Albert Reuss.

The collection belonging to St Ives Town Council includes important paintings by Edward R King and Frederick Sargent. The council also owns work by three major figures of the original St Ives School - John Anthony Park, Robert Borlase Smart and Louis Grier.

Other treasures can be found at West Cornwall and St Michael's hospitals, St Ives Library, Penzance Town Council, Porthcurno Telegraph Museum and Geevor Tin mine.

The Isles of Scilly Museum includes five paintings by J G Moyle, a doctor who painted imaginative scenes inspired by the granite landscape in the 19th century. It also has work by John Hamilton, renowned for his depiction of naval battle scenes, and long-time lifeboat crewman Richard Lethbridge.

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN 

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