About
Experience rarely seen and often overlooked works by two of the greatest Northern artists of the 20th century, Norman Cornish and L S Lowry.
This powerful exhibition celebrates the region’s distinctive industry, emotive landscapes and playful recreation activities, with a narrative that brings to life the relevance of these pieces today and how they resonate with a sense of place, hope and aspiration.
One of the many highlights includes a newly discovered self-portrait of Norman Cornish, which was uncovered at the Museum during conservation work ahead of the landmark show opening.
This is a fascinating display by two extraordinary storytellers of everyday life in the north, seen through different perspectives.
It features 35 rarely seen or previously unseen works among the more than 50 paintings, drawings and sketches on display. The newly found self portrait is now on show on a special plinth which is rotated once a day at 2.30pm, allowing visitors the chance to see both sides of the painting the right way up.
You can also see well known works by both artists including L.S.Lowry’s The Procession 1927, Lancashire Fair and A Cricket Match as well as Norman Cornish’s The Gossips, Miners on a Pit Road and The Busy Bar 1976.
This must see show is attracting global attention with coverage in America, Europe and across the UK.
The exhibition is accompanied by a wide ranging and engaging events programme, that’s free with admission, which includes the chance to hear from Norman Cornish’s family as well as experts from The Lowry Collection in Salford and academics.
The first of these will take place on Saturday, 31 August when Mike Thornton, Norman Cornish’s son in law will present an illustrated talk called Mr Cornish and Mr Lowry: A Tale of Two Artists that will reveal some interesting and unusual aspects of their work.
Vicki Pugh from the Institute of Social Justice at York St John University will explore how the changing industrial landscape was represented through art in Painting and pollution: a surprising new industrial aesthetic on Saturday, 5 October.
Visitors can discover an overview of the broad range of Lowry’s work with About L S Lowry with Claire Stewart on Saturday, 26 October. Claire is the Curator of The Lowry Collection in Salford which has kindly lent eight works to the exhibition including: Self Portrait; The Bedroom, Pendlebury; Teenagers and Waiting for the Tide.
And John Cornish, Norman Cornish’s son, will share intimate stories of his father’s life and work in an informal deep dive into the life and art of one of the North’s most famous painters on Saturday, 30th November.
The artist Zoe Allen will be leading charcoal drawing workshops on Monday 5th and 12th of August, where participants will be lead through the exhibition before exploring the qualities of material through mark-making and different drawing techniques to create their own landscape to take away.
There’s also space within the exhibition gallery for visitors to sketch or pop down their own thoughts, memories or inspiration sparked by the show.
People can also take home a memento of the exhibition as the Museum shop is stocked with a wide variety of books, cards and jigsaws featuring the artists and their works as well as a selection of Cornish reproduction prints and the equipment needed to create their own artworks.
People are already flocking to see the exhibition, so why not plan your visit now? In addition to this long awaited show, you can explore the Museum’s 22 galleries packed full of incredible artist, makers and designers work from across the world spanning 7 centuries of creativity.
You can pop in to see the exhibition or spend as long as you like meandering around the galleries, enjoying the fabulous food on offer in the newly crowned Café of the Year, Café Bowes, pick up a memento of your visit* in the shop and enjoy a stroll in the 22 acre parkland and gardens surrounding the Museum.
*The shop is stocked with a wide range of books about Norman Cornish’s life and work published by his family plus a range of L.S. Lowry literature and jigsaws.
We look forward to welcoming you soon.
Picture credit: Chip Van At Night – Private Collection © Norman Cornish Limited
Kith and Kinship: Norman Cornish and L. S. Lowry is open at The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle until Sunday, 19th January 2025.
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