Norman Cornish: Behind the Scenes revealed

Castlegate House Gallery

Norman Cornish Behind the Scenes revealed SEPTEMBER 18 TO OCTOBER 8, 2021

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Norman Cornish Behind the Scenes revealed

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or several years now we’ve been in a tremendously privileged position. Working with Norman’s family, representing the Norman Cornish estate, has provided us with access to the legacy left since his death in 2014. That access has provided us with not just an understanding of what that legacy is, the extent of the remaining works which act as a tangible, visual social history record, but also a joy in going through those works, a joy which is never lessened by repetition; if anything the greater the familiarity, the greater the understanding, appreciation and joy.

When in 2017, just around the time of our first major exhibition of Norman’s work, the book Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes was

published, we felt it very effectively filled a gap in the general understanding of Norman’s work and importantly, artistic process.

Much more than a catalogue of preparatory sketches, the book takes the reader through myriad subject matter, through first-stage drawings to fully completed paintings; many drawings also which were an end in themselves, never meant to be a pathway to further development.

Two hundred and sixty-nine sketchbooks exist within the estate. These however are not destined for sale or division – they belong to the Cornish family but reside as an educational/research resource with Northumbria University, providing a hugely important record of a working-class society now effectively gone. We’re very fortunate that

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as part of this exhibition several of those same sketchbooks will also be on display.

A notable body of works on paper exists outside of the sketchbooks; works produced by Norman as pieces in their own right or aidememoirs for further thought and reference. Moments in time captured, Flo-Master pen replacing camera, darting glances back and forth at a subject replacing shutter-speed.

For us, the very nature of that immediacy, that desire to record, to not let that moment and opportunity pass, is compelling. There’s an authenticity about it, it’s no pastiche; this is not a man in the 21st century creating images of a life he’s not lived, this is a man at the very heart of a working class society recording the everyday, an everyday that he lived and recorded. We should be grateful that he did.

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Interspersed within this catalogue are a number of photographs taken

by Norman; people and places he’ll have known well, scenes he was part of everyday. These would prove a prompt for his later work back in his studio, supplementing the sketchbook moments caught with pen; both pen and 35mm film proving an invaluable record for the artist at work.

All of the individual works within the show are illustrated within Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes. We’re thrilled to have not only had access to all of the works remaining but to have been able to work with the Cornish family to build a focused exhibition of pieces from that fabulous 2017 publication; we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Steve and Christine Swallow

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Man at Table in Bar

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Flo-Master pen and chalk on coloured paper 19 x 24.5 cm; £6,500

In the 1960s there were thirty seven pubs in Spennymoor with another thirty five in the immediate surrounding villages. Because Norman was a miner he was accepted as an artist rather than an outsider. The beer in his glass gave him the passport to be able to share, observe and record many character studies and informal bar scenes. He blended in.

A rare example of Norman utilising a coloured paper to enhance the composition.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 73

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◀ Three Men at Bar Flo-Master pen on paper 27.5 x 37.5 cm, £6,800

Norman was always fascinated by the shapes created by everyday actions and postures, as evident here in the three men stood at the bar. Drawings such as this are part of an evolving interpretation of men at bars and often the characters will appear in the much larger bar scenes where they are brought together to appear to be interacting as part of a larger group.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes, page 50

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◀ Man on Chair Reading Newspaper Flo-Master pen and watercolour on paper 19.5 x 24.5 cm, £7,800

An unusual treatment for a familiar theme; the man reading a newspaper.

Here Norman is interested in the shapes made by the man and his newspaper rather than the man himself; this is no portrait. The use of three colours within the composition is an interesting treatment of the subject matter.

Norman Cornish , Behind the Scenes page 72

Man Reading Newspaper

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Flo-Master pen on paper 19.5 x 25 cm, £5,500

A classic depiction of a man reading a newspaper, draw in-situ one supposes in one of the Spennymoor pubs, or even sat outside on a bench.

The image illustrates the high degree of skill

by Norman where the use of the Flo-Master pen had to be accurate ‘first time’ without any margin for error, especially as the ink dried almost instantly.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes, page 49

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A Canny Hand

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Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 20.5 x 29 cm, £5,500

A canny (good) hand would be a common term used by domino players in the pubs where the game was popular and sometimes involved competitions amongst the men. The dominoes are being held in both hands to shield the numbers on the domino pieces from other players. The hands are deliberately resting on the edge of the table which is why the dominoes are being held at arms- length. A study in concentration, assessing the next move and a big decision.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 96

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Character Study

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Flo-Master pen on paper 24 x 17 cm, £5,300

One of many such studies produced by Norman, often when sat or stood next to or nearby a person in one of the many pubs in Spennymoor.

The instant “of the moment” capture of the subject gives an energy and fluidity to the drawing. Norman undoubtedly was drawn to the man because of his strong angular features and is dated as (19)60.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 49

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Man with Dog Including preliminary sketch illustrated on page 19 Charcoal/pastel on paper 29 x 20 cm, £11,000

Dogs with their owners in many different settings were part of the cultural landscape of Spennymoor for much of the twentieth century. Some were racing dogs, whippets and greyhounds, usually appearing in bar scenes, but as here, not always.

The fascination with the subject, the shapes of the man, his clothing, the dog and the lead, attracted Cornish for obvious reasons. Norman’s quote ‘the people make the shapes I am just the medium’ appears on the Blue Plaque at 67 Whitworth Terrace.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 54

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◀ Man and Dog - preliminary sketch (and on reverse, above) To be sold with Man and Dog (facing page) 28.5 x 20 cm

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Newspaper Seller

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Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 28.5 x 20 cm, £5,500

One of a number of in-situ sketches of newspaper vendors made by Norman. A typical scene on every town and city in the UK for generations, now in a digital age all but gone.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 61

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◀ Pound Saved Again Charcoal, pastel and Flo-Master pen on paper 28 x 19 cm, £9,000

An unusual drawing using a colourpalette applied to an oft drawn subject. Here you can see Norman’s fondness for including headlines of the day within a composition, in this case “Pound Saved Again”.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 61

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Paper Seller

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Flo-Master pen and watercolour on paper 28 x 22 cm, £5,000

One of the figures would appear to be the newspaper seller with the stock of papers on the ground together with obligatory news billboards, while the other person is walking away from the seller, possibly captivated by the content of the newspaper.

The pole depicted supports an electric cable which in turn would provide the power for the electric trolley buses in operation in Newcastle from 1935 until 1966, when they were withdrawn.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 15

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◀ Washing Day Flo-Master pen on paper 25 x 38 cm, £7,000

A drawing of the front room at Bishops Close Street in the early 1960s; a drawing of the normal, the mundane.

It’s unlikely that Norman has included himself in this work, nor is it likely to be a young John, not yet a teenager. Uncle Bobby is a likely candidate, living close by also on Bishops Close Street.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 7

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Sarah bathing John

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Flo-Master pen on paper 25.5 x 19 cm, £5,500

Norman’s wife Sarah bathing son John at 33 Bishops Close Street. The tin bath would hang on the wall in the back yard, before being brought into the house for ‘bath-time.’ As an alternative, John would be given a quick wash whilst sat in the kitchen sink.

Sarah was regularly sketched whilst doing her household chores, knitting, preparing food, or looking after the two children, all of whom may need to ‘hold it there’ for a protracted period of time whilst Norman captured the moment.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 76

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◀ Sarah with Umbrella Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 20 x 24 cm, £6,500

A rare example of Norman’s wife, Sarah, stood holding an umbrella and using chalk on coloured paper to create the highlights.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 66

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The Pit Road

Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 20 x 29 cm, £8,000

The Pit Road is perhaps Norman Cornish’s most iconic image, often repeated with numerous variations throughout his career. The journey began as he left the front door of his home at Bishops Close Street and continued immediately through the tunnel under the railway line and onward to ‘the pit’. It was a journey of three miles each way which he was to make every day for thirty years, in all weather conditions and at different times of the night and day.

The dip in the path which is depicted in the right of this drawing was caused by subsidence owing to underground tunnel collapse.

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The picture is graphically accurate although the colliery itself has been turned more to the right for reasons of pictorial composition.

This particular scene was possibly Norman’s favourite Pit Road. A larger version (charcoal/ pastel) hung on one of the walls of the family home at 33 Bishops Close Street and has been replicated to be hung at the former family home under construction at Beamish Museum, as part of the Beamish, 1950s town, to be completed towards the end of 2021.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 19

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◀ The Three Marras Flo-Master pen and blue ink on paper 21 x 24.5 cm, £5,500

There was everything Norman Cornish needed for inspiration in The Pit Road.

“After walking along this road, winter and summer, it naturally becomes a significant part of one’s life. To watch the man ahead of you plodding resignedly through this man–made world is a subject which demands to be drawn again and again”.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 24

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Figures in a Landscape of Their Own Making Flo-Master pen on paper 25.5 x 20cm, £5,500

An iconic image with huge symbolism; Norman regarding the telegraph poles like crucifixes, often at angles, with one such depiction even showing a miner hanging crucified. Norman commented that the men were treated like slaves and spoken to like convicts.

Walking into a cacophony; steam and shunting trucks as well as the colliery buzzer. Arrival was greeted by fencing made from railway sleepers guarding the initial passage in to the pit yard.

He walked this route, three miles each way, every day, for over 30 years, in all weathers, times of the day and all seasons; 2,500 men on the move, in three shifts coming and going along the Pit Road.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 10

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The Pit Road near Bishops Close Street

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Flo-Master pen and watercolour on newspaper 24 x31 cm, £7,500

An unusual and rare version of the Pit Road immediately around the corner from 33 Bishops Close Street, where Norman lived with his family. This marks the beginning of the Pit Road prior to passing under the railway tunnel out of sight on the right hand side. This may be the only version of this particular section of the Pit Road.

It would appear that this particular work has been likely produced on a section of the Radio Times.

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No figures have been included in the composition, but it remains a record of a section of the road walked by thousands of men to Dean and Chapter Colliery and also a shortcut to Low Spennymoor, where the local factories were located. The dog track was also further along the road and the location for exercising the whippets and greyhounds which featured in so many of the bar scenes.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 186

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Another Shift Flo-Master pen, pastel and watercolour on paper 22.5 x 31 cm, £8,800

A unique drawing of miners going in to work at Mainsforth Colliery, Ferryhill, where Norman was transferred to in 1962. It was at this colliery that he received the call from Durham County Council to ‘paint a mural’, a task which was to dominate much of the next year.

a drift mine, the latter where the men walk in at an angle rather than being lowered down by cage. The men walking to their next shift can be seen wearing safety helmets for possibly the only time in Norman’s compositions – the then recent addition to the miner’s uniform.

Mainsforth Colliery was a deep mine rather than

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 27

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The Pit in the Fields

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Flo-Master pen on paper 27 x 31 cm, £6,000

The ‘Pit in the fields’ is Whitworth Colliery, which was the first major coal producing mine in the Spennymoor area.

Sunk in 1839 and closed in 1974.

The ‘Pit in the Fields’ was most likely named because the colliery was on the north edge of Spennymoor extending via open countryside north to the River Wear.

The wealthy landowners were the Shafto family and Bobby Shafto was the subject of a popular song in the region.

Today, the location is occupied by a new housing estate with a footpath and cycleway along the old rail line between Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 42

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◀ Pit Head Flo-Master pen on paper, 19 x 12.5 cm, £6,000

A powerful drawing of a feature which, for many generations, dominated much of the landscape in County Durham and likewise other mining communities across the UK. Within a five-mile radius of Spennymoor there were 135 collieries and pits at varying periods between 1829 and 1983.

During the Depression, The Times newspaper described County Durham as ‘little more than one huge colliery’.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 31

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Going in Bye

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Flo-Master pen and blue Ink on paper 17 x 27.5 cm, £7,000

The last remaining example of this underground subject matter within the estate; men walking, hunched, to the coal face.

A powerful image evoking strong memories from his first day at work when he exited from the cage to find it was well lit by electric lights and the tunnel curved away into the distance. “My mining career had begun”. The picture reveals the cramped conditions endured by the men. For Norman the artist, the image was full of powerful shapes including the girders, rail track for the coal tubs, lamps and battery cables, the angular

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legs of the men, their clothing, hands etc.

The dilemma for a young Norman Cornish was that he was fascinated by aesthetics and a desire to record these moments, when simultaneously the mine owners were only interested in coal production. He had to work with speed and accuracy to capture the moment and simultaneously prepare for his own shift at the coal face. Sometimes inevitably this work was done from memory later in the day.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 36

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◀ Miner with Pick Axe and Cracket Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 38 x 48 cm, £10,000

Simply put in Norman’s own words, “The dangers of gas, stone falls, the darkness and the restricted space, were all to shape these men into industrial gladiators.”

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 35

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The Pony Putter

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Blue ink on paper 20 x 28.5 cm, £5,200

Norman Cornish was set on (employed) at the pit in 1933 (Boxing Day) as a datal lad paid at a daily rate as a Pony Putter – sitting on the limbers and bent over to avoid decapitation and sometimes ‘pushing the coal tubs’. This drawing records a job which has passed into history. The putting road was just tub height. Limbers are the wooden shafts connecting the pit pony to the

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coal tub.

Dean & Chapter Colliery was referred to as the ‘Butchers Shop’. One hundred and seventy-seven fatalities occurred over time. 2,135 men working underground, 3,000 tons of coal produced each day, two thirds hand hewn.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 38

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◀ People and Shapes Durham Flo-Master pen and blue ink on paper 20 x 28.5 cm, £5,000

One of a collection of preparatory sketches from regular visits during the early 1980s to Durham City.

Norman had no particular desire to paint the Cathedral, instead finding much inspiration from other opportunities in the city such as the pedestrian footbridge shown here. This is the main route for pedestrians from Durham Station down to the city centre and one Norman found interesting because of the contrasting shapes at play whilst enabling folks to go about their everyday lives.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 167

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Studies of the Viaduct in Durham

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Flo-Master pen and watercolour on paper 27 x 37 cm, £8,000

A collection of preparatory sketches from visits to Durham City in the early 1980s. Three depict the railway viaduct including the steep hill up to the station. The couple at the bus stop will most likely be from the bus station on North Road, a few hundred metres from the railway viaduct.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 166

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The Pier at South Shields

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Blue ink on paper 9.5 x 15 cm, £2,500

The life and times of and in Spennymoor were the main subject of Norman’s interest during the 50s and 60s.

However, occasionally, he ventured to the coast at South Shields and various parts of Tyneside.

The pier at South Shields was an obvious attraction, combining the interesting shape of the pier itself and the rail lines.

The anglers watching and waiting after casting their lines were irresistible to Norman and the subject was a favourite which also offered a ‘different theatre of operations’.

His first painting of people fishing at South Shields appeared at the Stone Gallery exhibition of 1967, which was shortly after he became a professional artist.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 169

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Observational studies

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Flo-Master pen and chalk on paper 19.5 x 23 cm, £3,200

Norman would often make sketch-observations of people, an aide memoir for future paintings.

Rembrandt was a huge influence on Norman and he was fascinated by his attention to the humble and mundane activities of the everyday.

Whenever he was out for a walk, he always had his sketchbook and Flo Master pen in a specially crafted ‘poachers pocket’ that Sarah had sewn into his coat, ready to capture a particular figure in an unguarded moment.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 43 and 53

Allotment Studies

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Flo-Master pen on paper 20.5 x 29.5 cm, £4,800

Allotments with Greenhouses and Pigeon Crees were very much part of the cultural landscape of mining communities. Here Norman has created preliminary sketches to be used in later pictures.

Vegetables were grown to provide additional food for families. Racing Pigeons were reared as a hobby outside of work and to this day there are seven areas for allotments in and around Spennymoor where the traditions continue. Growing vegetables became competitive in the autumn during the annual Leek Shows where prizes were awarded for the best specimens in each category. A Leek Show was never included in his work but posters advertising Leek Shows sometimes appear in Bar Scenes.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 150

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The Match

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Courting Couple

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Flo-Master pen on paper 16.5 x 20 cm, £4,500

Flo-Master pen on paper 20.5 x 26 cm, £5,500

After much Cornish-family research tenacity it has been established that the football ground in the drawing was the home of Gateshead FC Redheugh Park (pronounced Red-yuff). The ground was opened in 1930, originally for South Shields FC, which became Gateshead FC and it was demolished in 1972 to become part of the Garden Festival. The football club later re-located to Gateshead International Stadium which is also the famous athletics venue.

Observations of people; possibly from the early 1960s at the Durham Big Meeting, ‘The Miners Gala’.

Located down by what is known as The Sands, along the Racecourse where the colliery banners and bands arrived; thousands of people congregating, listening to the political speeches. A lot of alcohol was consumed and inhibitions discarded.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 158

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Clearly the ability of Norman as artist to sketch and draw with speed and accuracy was of importance here!

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 63

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Study of Horse & Cart/Tree

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Flo-Master pen and watercolour on paper 28 x 22 cm, £6,000

A horse and cart, ‘the rag and bone man,’ was a regular sight on the streets of Spennymoor and likewise much of the UK during the period chronicled by Norman Cornish.

He had an outstanding ability to quickly observe and record people in the most unlikely situations and the horses and carts seen in and around Spennymoor provide an excellent example. Sometimes they appear as subjects in their own right and on other occasions they are placed within street scenes as part of the natural interaction between the subject and other people going about their daily lives at the same time.

Rapid sketches were sometimes later water-coloured as he developed his technique and approach.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 141

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◀ Man Working up Telegraph Pole Ink on paper 14.5 x 6cm,

£1,800

This is a depiction of a worker, up a ladder to the top of a telegraph pole, in days before obligatory hard-hats and harnesses. The telegraph pole is one situated to the rear of Whitworth Terrace, Spennymoor, where Norman and his family moved in 1967. Norman’s studio looked out over the back of the property, from where he would have seen the image portrayed. The small drawing carries colour notes for future use.

Norman Cornish, Behind the Scenes page 64

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Norman Cornish

Behind the Scenes revealed 18th Sept, 2021 to 8th Oct, 2021 Castlegate House Gallery, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9HA www.castlegatehouse.co.uk thegallery@castlegatehouse.co.uk 01900 822149 or 07920 836 874

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