FUTURE EXHIBITIONS

Please note that it is necessary to close the galleries before and after exhibitions to allow for re-hanging. Please check that we are open during these periods. The Orangery Café and the Shop remain open at all times.

Exhibitions and dates may be subject to change: please telephone in advance if you are planning a special journey.

For images from previous exhibitions click here

EXHIBITION PROGRAMME 2008 - 9

Setting Sun off the Cornish Coast Sydney Mortimer Laurence Oil on canvas Southampton City Art Gallery

14 June - 13 September 2008
Lyrical Light: Art in St Ives 1889 - 1914
Today, St. Ives is best known for the post-War artists' colony, but before the modernists arrived in the town, St. Ives was already internationally acclaimed as an artists' colony, attracting leading figures from all over the World. This survey of the art of the period, researched by David Tovey, offers a sumptuous feast of paintings from a golden age of British art.
Ground floor galleries: selection of Newlyn School paintings on view upstairs in Gallery 5

20 September - 22 November 2008
The Magic of a Line
The Newlyn School artists are best known as painters, but many of them also had astonishing talents as draughtsmen. This exhibition presents a selection of rarely seen drawings and etchings by artists including Stanhope Forbes, Walter Langley, Elizabeth Forbes, Laura Knight, Charles Napier Hemy and W.H.Y. Titcomb. Ranging from preparatory drawings and sketches to large-scale finished works, this exhibition will prove that you don't always need colour to produce a moving and memorable image.
Ground floor galleries: selection of Newlyn School paintings on view upstairs in
Gallery 5

29 November 2008 - 10 January 2009
and 17 January - 14 March 2009
A Village in Focus: Mousehole
Marking the centenary of the foundation of Mousehole Male Choir, this exhibition brings together paintings, photographs and artefacts celebrating the village's fascinating heritage. From its early history as one of Cornwall's most important ports, through the legendary Spanish Raid, to 20th century phenomena such as the Christmas Lights and the Mousehole Cat, this family-friendly exhibition gives an intriguing overview of one of Britain's best-loved villages.
Galleries 2, 3 & 4

29 November 2008 - 10 January 2009
Crafts for Christmas
Our ever-popular annual selling exhibition of work by Cornwall Crafts, whose membership includes several of Britain's leading craftspeople. Whether you are seeking a special gift for a loved-one or a unique acquisition for yourself or your home, you'll find it here. All items are available for immediate purchase (cash, cheque or credit cards only).
Gallery 1: FREE ADMISSION

17 January - 14 March 2009
A Village in Focus: Newlyn
To complement the exhibition about the neighbouring village of Mousehole, this show highlights aspects of the history of Newlyn, whose social history, thanks to being home to one of Britain's most important art colonies, is familiar to art lovers throughout the World. Incorporating photographs, objects, prints and - of course - paintings, this exhibition completes the picture of life in the two villages over past centuries.
Galleries 1 & 5

In Our Old World Valley, c1921 S. J. Lamorna Birch Oil on canvas

21 March - 13 June 2009
Wild Cornwall
In celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday, this exhibition looks at the flora and fauna of Cornwall through the eyes of artists, photographers, scientists and collectors. Utilising Penlee House's own collection, supplemented by loans from public and private collections, this entertaining yet educational exhibition combines beautiful imagery with fascinating fact.
Ground floor galleries: selection of Newlyn School paintings on view upstairs in Gallery 5

20 June - 12 September 2009
The Brotherhood of the Palette
2009 marks 125 years since the famous group photographs of the early Newlyn Colony. This exhibition includes examples of work by all the artists depicted in the photographs - Forbes, Langley, Harris, Tuke, Tayler, Wainwright, Bodilly, Millard, Bramley, Fletcher, Breakspeare and Todd, and provides a snapshot of the Newlyn School work produced in and around that year.
Ground floor galleries: selection of Lamorna group paintings on view upstairs in Gallery 5

19 September - 28 November 2009
Marianne Stokes 1855 - 1927
Born in Austria as Marianne Preindlsberger, she studied art under Lindenschmidt in Munich, and won prize money there that enabled her to travel and study in France where she met the Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck. Together they sought out the right places for 'plein air' social realism, and were attracted to Pont Aven in 1883, and it was there that Marianne met Adrian Stokes: they were married the following year. The couple moved to St Ives and both became leading figures in the art colony there. Along with Elizabeth Armstrong Forbes, Marianne Stokes was considered one of the leading women artists in Britain of their time. This touring exhibition complements an exhibition of Adrian Stokes's work, curated by Magdalen Evans, on show concurrently at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro.
Ground floor galleries: selection of Newlyn School paintings on view upstairs in Gallery 5

28 November 2009 - 9 January 2010
Crafts for Christmas
Annual selling exhibition of work by Cornwall Crafts Association
Gallery 1

28 November 2009 - 9 January 2010
Penlee Inspired
An exhibition of work by children and adults from workshops at Penlee House
Galleries 2, 3 & 4: selection of Newlyn School paintings on view upstairs in Gallery 5

Penlee House Collections
Penlee House has a permanent collection of paintings by artists of the 'Newlyn School' and Lamorna group, which we are actively developing through purchases, gifts, bequests and long-term loans. Some of the best-known works include 'The Rain it Raineth Every Day' by Norman Garstin, 'School is Out' by Elizabeth Forbes and 'Among The Missing' by Walter Langley. Our exhibitions usually include some works from this collection, but please note that there is no permanent display. If you wish to see a particular painting, please telephone before your visit to check if it will be on display.

For further details of exhibitions or to confirm opening during exhibition change-overs, please phone the Gallery on +44 (0)1736 363625,
Fax +44 (0)1736 361312 or email

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