The Art of Cornwall

The much-loved county of Cornwall has been a rich source of inspiration for generations of artists, with its stunning scenery, spectacular coastline, busy harbours and fishing communities and unique quality of light. The late 19th and early 20th Centuries constitute a golden age when Cornwall was at the forefront of British art and painters from home and abroad gathered here to set up their studios and schools of art in Newlyn, Lamorna, St. Ives and Falmouth. Many of these artists had trained together in the ateliers of Paris and Antwerp and arrived in Cornwall enthused by the latest European ideas and techniques of painting outdoors, capturing the movement of their subjects and translating impressions of colour, light and shade onto their canvases with quick, square-brush strokes. The result is a rich artistic heritage that can still be enjoyed today.