It is not known exactly how long Norman Cornish’s self-portrait had been safely hidden behind another of his paintings. Nor is it known why the artist would have hidden it. The painting saw the light of day for the first time a month ago thanks to the intervention of an art conservator from the museum, which was preparing an exhibition of works by “coal artists” – painters who came from the mining region of the British Isles.
Picture in Picture: Unknown Self-Portrait of Famous Painter Found in UK
Norman Cornish worked as a miner in one of the many coal mines in the north-east of England for 30 years. In his spare time after hard work in the shaft, he sometimes spent relaxing in the bar, but more often he would pick up a brush or a piece of coal and crayons. He documented the lives of miners, the work in the mines, the landscape around them, and city scenes. He is one of the most famous painters of the region in the last 70 years, but it is only now that a second work of art, hidden for at least 60 years, has been found behind one of his paintings of men in a bar.
The discovery was made by Bowes Museum conservator Jon Old, who was preparing Cornish’s paintings for a new exhibition. The back of one of the works appeared to be loose, which worried the conservator – he was afraid it might damage the board on which the painter was working with oils. He decided to carefully detach it.
To my amazement, I discovered a second painting! – the conservator told “The Guardian”. – I was the first person after Norman Cornish to see it with my own eyes.
It’s very exciting, it shows why conservation is so important. It’s not just about looking after the objects, but also discovering new things,” added Vicky Sturrs, the curator of the collection, which was managed by Jon Old.
On an additional board, a self-portrait of the artist from his younger days was discovered, perhaps before he had to give up work in the mine. This is a preliminary sketch, which additionally covered an earlier one, which Cornish clearly considered unsuccessful. A similar head is clearly visible in the background, which the artist eventually decided to cover with a second self-portrait (?). The discovered painting can be seen in the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.
Norman Cornish died in 2014 at the age of almost 100. He never trained as an artist. As a teenager, he attended classes at the Spennymoor Foundation, which provided housing for poor mining areas struggling with poverty and unemployment, where he learned the basics of drawing in afternoon classes. Cornish was lucky in terms of employment – he started working in the mine at the age of 14 and only gave it up after 30 years due to increasing back pain. Throughout his adult life, he was supported by his wife, who encouraged him to paint. Even as a child, Cornish went everywhere with a notebook and pencil, drawing everything he saw. It was his wife who convinced him that they could survive financially without a mine salary and with an uncertain artist’s salary. Eventually, Cornish found funding, and his works began to appear in local art galleries, then museums in the region’s major cities. He received honorary degrees – an MA from Newcastle University and a PhD from Sunderland University.
Source: Gazeta
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