Our next exhibition will be Artists by Themselves, opening on 23 March 2019.

The exhibition features a selection of over sixty portraits of artists associated with the internationally renowned Newlyn School and Lamorna Colonies such as Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes, Walter Langley, Fred Hall, Laura and Harold Knight, Dod and Ernest Procter and Lamorna Birch to name but a few. If you have ever wondered what these artists looked like, now is your chance to find out!

Rather than focusing on their more familiar subject matters such as the social history of the local area or the bright landscapes of West Cornwall, we are seeking to give an insight into the artists’ own lives by showing self-portraits and portraits of the artists and their families by their contemporaries.

The exhibition will feature favourites such as Fred Hall’s intimate caricatures of the early Newlyn School artists including Stanhope Forbes, Norman Garstin and Frank Bramley alongside self-portraits by these artists.  Also on show will be the impressive and large painting Spring by Laura Knight, which depicts fellow artists and friends Charles and Ella Naper, and a previously unseen portrait of Robert Morson Hughes, painted by Harold Knight as a ‘study’ for his painting The Council.  

Borrowed from a range of public organisations such as Tate, the Royal Academy and Gallery Oldham, the exhibition features several portraits from Penlee House’s own collections, as well as works on loan from private collections. In addition, the show incorporates photographs of some of the artists to really give a feel for how well their likenesses, and perhaps personalities, have been captured.

It is necessary to close some of the galleries between exhibitions, so please do check what is open before making a special journey during those times. Click here for 2019 dates

Not all the paintings are on show at any one time. If there is a particular picture that you would like to see, please let us know in advance of your visit or on the day.

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the current brochure

CLICK HERE for past exhibitions  

Insiders/Outsiders is a nationwide arts festival celebrating refugees from Nazi Europe and their contribution to British culture. The festival coincides with the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War and runs from March 2019 until March 2020.

Insiders/Outsiders highlights the indelible contribution of the artists, photographers, writers, architects, designers, actors, film-makers, dancers and musicians as well as publishers, art historians, dealers and collectors who, in fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, greatly enriched this country’s culture.

Insiders/Outsiders brings together exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, film screenings, walks, lectures and poetry readings in cultural institutions across the UK.

More info on the Insiders/Outsiders page