New exhibition to explore famous Newlyn painting Print E-mail
Monday, 04 August 2008

A new exhibition exploring one of the Newlyn School’s most admired artworks will open at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday 26 July (running until the end of Saturday 1 November).

 

‘A Fish Sale… Explored’ will take a fresh look at the well-known painting ‘A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach’ by Stanhope Forbes. The exhibition will use the painting as its sole focus and will bring its historic context to life with a selected range of objects and artefacts.

 

These will include:

  • a study dating from 1884, on loan from Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance
  • letters from Forbes to his mother from the collections of Tate
  • a model of the Mounts Bay lugger ‘The Mystery’, on loan from the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
  • an exhibition catalogue for the 1885 Royal Academy Exhibition where ‘A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach’ was first seen by the public
  • preserved fish specimens from the natural history collections of Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery

 

The exhibition will also feature an interactive area for children and families with dressing up costumes and other activities including a chance to compose your own Fish Sale. A tactile copy of the painting with an audio description will also be available for visually impaired visitors.

 

“A Fish Sale On A Cornish Beach is one of our most popular artworks and is usually displayed alongside other Newlyn School paintings that the Museum owns. For this exhibition we have focused on just this one painting in order to explore the people, landscape and industry that inspired its creation,” explains Adam Milford, site education assistant.  

 

The exhibition will be backed by a full events and activities programme including lunchtime talks on 2, 16 and 23 September; family-friendly holiday workshops on 1, 6, 7, 21 and 27 August and a practical workshop for adults on 11 September based on plein-air (open air) sketching – one of the Newlyn School’s favoured techniques.

 

‘A Fish Sale… Explored’ will be on display at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery from Saturday 26 July until Saturday 1 November). Opening hours are 10am to 5.30pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 5pm Saturday and Bank Holiday Mondays. Admission is free.

Comments (2)Add Comment
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written by Laurence Hartwell, April 17, 2009
Here are the contact details for the best people to speak to in the area - Penlee Museum in Penzance
http://www.penleehouse.org.uk/langley-database/newlynartist database.htm
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written by K J Whitnell, April 10, 2009
I have a small watercolour, 16cmsx25cms, signed by Stanhope Forbes, showing a beach scene with two boats and a fisherman. On the back is written "Newlyn Fishing".
Would you have any further information regarding this picture?
Is it of interest?

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