Visual Arts

Newcastle’s Masterpieces

Ever wandered around Newcastle Art Gallery and wondered about the stories behind the paintings? Andrew Dobraszczyc leads courses illustrating the history of them...

Those who have visited the Newcastle Museum and Art Gallery's building up on the Brampton will know that the museum seeks to collect paintings and artefacts that celebrate the borough’s heritage.
So, many of its pieces act as a social history to the historic town.

Paintings

Andrew Dobraszczyc, from Keele University, has led courses that looked at paintings of the Borough that were created between 1770 and 1970.

Probably the most famous of the paintings is the 'The Mock Mayor' painted by Robert William Buss (1844), which shows a riotous election process taking place in front of a building that is recognisably the town’s Guildhall, which still stands today.

Other nineteenth century artists represented at the gallery who painted local scenes are Henry Lark Pratt, and J L Hulse.

But the moderns also depicted what they saw in the borough. Jack Clarkson’s striking view of the now-forgotten Municipal Hall in Newcastle is much discussed at Andrew's courses.

To see a gallery of some of the gallery's paintings that are examined on courses, and more, click on the link in the top right hand corner of this page.

Courses

To find out more about courses coming up, call Newcastle Museum on 01782 – 619705.