In January 2015 Spennymoor Town Council approved a proposal to designate a room in The Bob Abley Gallery to be called the Norman Cornish Room in memory of Norman Cornish MBE.
The purpose of the room will be to exhibit the Permanent Collection of work by Norman Cornish with additional support from The Permanent Collection of his work at The University of Northumbria.
Northumbria University’s Associate Dean of Business and Engagement for Arts, Design and Social Sciences, Dr Heather Robson, said: “The University has a strong relationship with the Cornish family – through its collection of Norman’s work, which has a permanent home at Northumbria – and we’re delighted that this will continue into 2016 and beyond, starting with this first-rate exhibition.
“We’re excited to be discussing future opportunities to support the legacy of the Cornish collection – including a PhD studentship; work with Beamish Museum and other partners; conservation and heritage research linked to the University’s Northern-ness programme; forensic support; and the ongoing care, stewardship and impact of Norman’s work – which will mark a new and exciting phase in our partnership.”
The dedicated space provides an opportunity to exhibit the work by Norman who spent his entire life living and working in Spennymoor. It is quite possible in the history of art that no other town has received so much attention by one artist in his lifetime. Norman Cornish is Spennymoor’s most famous son and he has taken the cultural landscape of Spennymoor to a global audience, not only via his paintings but also in the many TV documentaries which have spanned his lifetime.
John Cornish: As an artist, my father’s vision was only focused on Spennymoor; to him it had everything he needed. He was able to record every aspect of Spennymoor life with great skill and empathy because it was the community in which he lived and worked – a world he knew well. The town’s rich social, cultural and industrial heritage can never be forgotten now. This ‘slice of life’ has been captured perfectly in his artwork and the Cornish family is indebted to Spennymoor Town Council who have provided an exhibition space in his honour to display his exemplar work.
The development is also part of his legacy which has also been supported by Beamish Museum, Durham County Council and The University of Northumbria.
It is hoped that the feasibility study of the Norman Cornish Trail by Durham County Council will also enable replicas of his iconic work to be shown to visitors in their actual locations as well as visitors also seeing the other cultural attraction across County Durham including The Mining Museum at Spennymoor Town Hall.
Mike Thonton, former head Teacher at Greenfield and son-in-law of the late Norman Cornish
