Throughout the history of art particular places at particular times have inspired intense periods of creativity. From the late 19th century, Cornwall became a focus for a number of artists who challenged conventions, beginning with the artists’ colonies at Newlyn and then Lamorna. In the 20th century, St Ives was home to British modernists such as Bernard Leach, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson who in turn inspired and were challenged by a younger generation of avant-garde artists that included Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. This study day will look at the work of these artists and others who lived and worked in Cornwall from the 1880s to the 1970s and explore their artistic influences, relationships and legacy.

Lecture 1 - The Newlyn School

This lecture sets the scene for the arrival of the first generation of artists in Newlyn and describe how the artists’ colony developed in this small Cornish fishing village in the 1880s. It discusses the work of artists such as Stanhope Forbes, Walter Langley, Edwin Harris and Henry Scott Tuke who were inspired by the subject matter and light that they found in west Cornwall. In 1889 Stanhope Forbes married the Canadian born artist, Elizabeth Armstrong and together they established the Forbes School of Art, which attracted younger artists to Newlyn and the nearby village of Lamorna.

Lecture 2 - From Lamorna to St Ives

By the beginning of the 20th century, Lamorna Cove had become home to a group of artists including Samuel ‘Lamorna’ Birch, Frank Gascoigne Heath, Harold and Laura Knight and Alfred Munnings. They worked together and played together and experienced the ‘joys of youth’ in a surge of creativity. Artists were also attracted to St Ives where the self-taught artist Alfred Wallis began to paint in the 1920s. His work was championed by modernists such as Ben Nicholson who moved to St Ives in 1939 together with Barbara Hepworth and Naum Gabo. They were the leading modern artists of their day and went on to inspire the next generation of St Ives artists.

Lecture 3 - The Triumph of St Ives 1945-1975

The final lecture will chart the rise of St Ives as a centre for modern art after the end of the Second World War and show that it was not only Nicholson, Hepworth and Gabo who achieved international success but many other artists such as Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron, Terry Frost and Wilhemena Barns Graham. This success led to St Ives becoming a fascinating focal point for post-war modern art.