The Newlyn School was an artist colony that formed in the fishing village of Newlyn, Cornwall, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In a manner similar to the French Barbizon School, a group of British artists, including pioneers Walter Langley and Stanhope Forbes, settled in the area to escape urban life and capture what they saw as a more authentic and traditional way of living. The school's style is characterized by a blend of the social conscience of French Realism with the atmospheric techniques of Impressionism.
Adhering to the practice of painting en plein air (outdoors), the artists sought to accurately depict the unique quality of the natural light on the Cornish coast. Their work primarily documents the daily lives of the local fishing community, focusing on subjects such as the hardship of labor at sea, bustling harbor scenes, and quiet domestic interiors. While often compared to the contemporary Pont-Aven School in Brittany for its focus on a specific regional culture, the Newlyn School remained more committed to a naturalistic and documentary style of representation.
History[]
The Newlyn School was a group of artists who settled and worked in Newlyn, a fishing village near Penzance, Cornwall, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Artists were drawn to Newlyn due to its abundant sunlight, mild climate, picturesque scenery, and relatively cheap living costs. Due to its nautical and rural background, they also found the area similar to Brittany, an adjacent region of France with a very similar culture to Cornwall, which had also drawn other artist colonies (Pont-Aven School). The area was also affordable and easily accessible from London after the Great Western Railway expanded into West Cornwall in 1877. The daily lives of the fishing community, the dangers of the sea, and the activities in the harbor and village offered artists a wide range of subjects to depict in their paintings.
Walter Langley arrived from Birmingham to Newlyn in 1882, becoming the first artist to settle there.[1] Previously, he had gained a reputation for working in a lithographic studio. He was followed by Edwin Harris, Stanhope Forbes, and Frank Bramley. Forbes and Bramley quickly gained recognition for their paintings of Newlyn, and they became central figures in the movement. The movement thrived in the years before World War I (approximately 1880s-1914). Notable artists associated with the movement included Norman Garstin, Thomas Cooper Gotch, Fred Hall, Henry Scott Tuke, Harold Knight, Dame Laura Knight, Dod Procter, and Ernest Procter. Many of these artists belonged to the New English Art Club and exhibited their work at the Royal Academy in London. Forbes's first Newlyn painting was well-received at the Royal Academy, and Bramley's painting "A Hopeless Dawn" (1888) gained him a great reputation.
World War I was a major turning point for the Newlyn School and caused its decline. As the number of skilled artists decreased in the area due to displacements and mobilizations, it led to a decadence in the quality of work produced there. During the aftermath of World War II, the nearby city of St Ives emerged as a new hub for artists in Cornwall, with an artist colony known as the St Ives School.
Despite its decline in the late-1910s, many of its artists continued working well into the 20th century. Today, paintings from the Newlyn School are highly valued and often fetch high prices at auction. However, many of these works still remain in the hands of local families, sometimes passed down through generations. This is partly because, in the early days of the colony, artists often used their paintings as a form of currency, exchanging them for necessities like food and lodging.[2] In 2011, the Newlyn School of Art was founded, and draws inspiration from the same coastal landscapes that characterized the Newlyn School movement.
Visuals[]
- Fishermen at work
- Women mending nets
- Children playing on the beach
- Families in their homes
- The Cornish coastline
- Cornish culture and daily life experiences
- Cliffs
- Harbors and boats
- The countryside
- Local fishermen
- Natural lighting
- En plein air art
- Light, natural colour palettes
- Elements of Realism, Impressionism, and Naturalism
Figures[]
- Albert Chevallier Tayler
- Alfred Munnings
- Annie Walke
- Ayerst Ingram
- Carey Morris
- Caroline Gotch
- Charles Simpson
- Dod Procter
- Edwin Harris
- Eleanor Hughes
- Elizabeth Forbes
- Frank Bramley
- Frederick Hall
- Gertrude Harvey
- Harold Harvey
- Harold Knight
- Henry Scott Tuke
- Lamorna Birch
- Laura Knight
- Marjorie Frances Bruford
- Mary Jewels
- Norman Garstin
- Ruth Simpson
- Stanhope Forbes
- Thomas Cooper Gotch
- Walter Langley
Media[]
- Every Corner Was a Picture: 120 Artists of the Newlyn School by George Bednar (2004)
- Painting in Newlyn 1880-1930 by Caroline Fox and Francis Greenacre (1985)
- Stanhope Forbes and the Newlyn School by Caroline Fox (1993)
Gallery[]
