Norman Cornish

Some paintings and a few words...

Perhaps every serious artist unknowingly creates his or her own special world, and the picture viewer can come to recognise this fact more quickly than the artist themselves. This special mental world is difficult to explain. It is the artist's personality, plus life's experiences, that have helped to shape it. After all, we are all the victors, or victims, of life's experience.... The ability to paint and draw with skill is very useful, but that alone does not make a creative artist. The creative artist has an inborn mental characteristic of being able to feel powerful emotion, coupled with the urge to think deeply about things. To think about life, even simple sounding things, can have a profound effect upon one's painting.

Norman Cornish

Although Norman Cornish is not well known outside of northeast England today, he is still renowned and celebrated in the region for his evocative depictions of the coal mining community. He is undoubtedly the most famous artist to emerge from the region in the 20th Century and, for a time, became one of Britain's most famous artists. His work is still in public and private collections throughout the UK and abroad.

Born in 1919 into a coal mining family in Spennymoor, a small mining town a few miles south of Durham City, Cornish began working as a miner at fourteen and spent the next thirty-three years at the coalface. 

 “[they] had peasant strength and rootedness…. [having to] wrench the coal out with picks, shovels and sheer muscle power. They were industrial gladiators and I was to be part of its brutality”

Although his artistic talent was clear from an early age, he could only pursue drawing and painting in his spare time. However, despite the harsh realities of his working life, Cornish was determined to follow his passion for art. He found a significant source of encouragement and support for his artistic endeavours in the 'Spennymoor Settlement', an organisation that provided educational and cultural opportunities for local people.

In the early 20th Century, the art establishment considered working-class artists as naive 'Sunday painters' because of their occupation and implied political associations. However, Cornish had genuine talent, and only the fact that he was a coal miner and in a 'reserved occupation' stopped him from accepting a place at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London in 1939. Cornish eventually left mining in 1966, enrolling at age 47 at Sunderland Art College, where reports are there remained resentment by some students and some of his contemporaries because he lacked an academic background. Such were the times. But his talent shone out, and he became a professional artist, eventually working for forty-six years in that profession, longer than he did as a coal miner.

Cornish's style is deeply rooted in social realism, a movement focused on the truthful depiction of the harsh realities faced by working-class communities. In Cornish's case, the everyday life of coal miners and mining towns in northeast England. His paintings and drawings often depict men at work in the coal mines and scenes of domestic life, street scenes, and social gatherings, offering a poignant glimpse into a world that has largely vanished. His works are celebrated for their historical and cultural significance and as a visual documentary of a bygone era. They are not only artistically significant but also valuable historical artefacts, offering insights into the social and economic conditions of the time and preserving the heritage of the Northeast mining communities for future generations. Some often make comparisons of Cornish to other British social realist painters like his friend L. S. Lowry, with whom Cornish exhibited several times. However, Cornish's work stays distinct in its focus and style. 

One of those distinctive features is Cornish's focus on people. His paintings often feature miners at work, people in pubs, children playing, and people doing their daily chores. He had a keen eye for capturing the physicality and expressions of his subjects, bringing a sense of intimacy and authenticity to his work. And while Lowry’s labouring figures seem beaten down, Cornish’s seem stoic and assertive with a sense of joviality. Cornish said that he refused to paint the miners as “cowed and defeated” by circumstance.

Cornish's compositions are bold and clear. He used strong, decisive lines to define shapes and forms, giving his work a robust and dynamic quality. His use of line work is particularly clear in his drawings and sketches, where the economy of line conveys a wealth of detail and emotion. 

Andrew Festing, President of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters offered, "The [Cornish] drawings of figures … have a look of a Piranesi print. The sketches of heads, bent figures on bicycles, sitting on benches and standing in queues are Rembrandt like. His family – wife and children remind me of JF Millais and Van Gogh".

Cornish usually used a muted and earthy colour palette, reflecting the industrial landscape of the Northeast. He used shades of brown, grey, and black to depict the grime and soot of the mining environment, occasionally contrasting them with brighter colours to highlight certain elements or figures.

He also had a remarkable ability to capture the atmosphere of that which he painted. His works often depict the stark, gritty reality of mining towns, focusing on the textures and details of the industrial landscape. He captured the changing light and weather conditions, adding to the realism and mood of his scenes.

The scene at the beginning of this piece is 'Pit Road', a quintessential example of Cornish's work. This painting is particularly significant as it depicts the road he walked when going to and from a shift during his long coal-mining life: three miles from his front door to the Dean and Chapter Colliery at Ferryhill. Depending on his shift, the journey was at various times of the night and day and in all weathers at contrasting times of the year. It is hardly surprising that his paintings and drawings often repeat such subject matter, as coalmining was a significant part of his life and a theme to which he kept a deep connection. 

The composition is straightforward yet powerful. The miners are prominent in the foreground, drawing immediate attention. The path they walk on extends into the background, leading the viewer's eye into the distance, symbolising their long and arduous journey in their daily lives. The perspective used by Cornish creates a sense of depth and movement, effectively capturing the miners' trudge. The sense of routine is a central theme in Cornish's work, reflecting the repetitiveness of the laborious life of the mining community. The painting shows the camaraderie between the miners as they walk together, suggesting a shared experience and mutual support.

Cornish’s muted palette contributes to the sombre and realistic mood of the painting, which is characterised by resilience and determination. Despite the harsh conditions, the miners appear resolute. The painting evokes empathy and admiration for their hard work and perseverance. Cornish's attention to detail in their postures adds a humanising element, making the viewer feel connected to the individuals portrayed.

The painting's background features elements of the industrial landscape, with the pit head, buildings and chimneys situating the painting firmly within the context of a mining town and offering a broader view of the environment where these workers lived and laboured. The bleak and industrial setting contrasts with the human element in the foreground, highlighting the interplay between the industrial worker and their environment.

I mentioned visiting the 'Durham Big Meeting' in my 'Meander' of a fortnight ago. Outside of the northeast, that community gathering is known as 'The Miners Gala', and in the 1960s, Durham County Council asked Cornish to produce something to record the annual celebration.

He produced 'Gala Day, ' a mural more than thirty feet long and nearly six feet high that captured a community celebration and highlighted the social and cultural importance of the 'Big Meeting' in a composition bustling with movement and energy. The painting is an excellent example of Cornish's ability to document and celebrate the everyday life of his community. It stands alongside his more sombre works, offering a more joyous and festive perspective on the lives of mining families.

Cornish's use of perspective and arrangement of figures creates a sense of depth and invites the viewer into the scene as if taking part in the event. The people, shown enjoying the festivities, are depicted with a sense of individuality and realism, capturing their gestures, expressions, and interactions. His ability to convey the event's noise, movement, and overall ambience is a testament to his observational skills and connection to the subject matter.

The colour palette of 'Gala Day' is more varied and vibrant compared to Cornish's more sombre mining scenes. Bright colours depict festive elements such as banners, clothing, and stalls, creating a cheerful and lively atmosphere. Cornish keeps a balance, ensuring that the scene is realistic and grounded in the community's everyday life.

Cornish's work gained broader recognition through the 1960s, leading to many exhibitions across the UK. He also received several awards and accolades for his contributions to British art. The ultimate accolade, and one that tops any Blue Plaque, as far as Northeast England is concerned, is the recreation in Beamish Open-air Museum of the first Cornish family home in Spennymoor, including the artist's studio equipment that he donated shortly before his death and from where Norman Cornish set off for the coal mine on so many days of his life.

I close this piece with this pastel and black chalk offering by Cornish. Anyone who reads me regularly will understand why. Indeed, Michael Chaplin used it as the front cover of his wonderful book ‘Newcastle United Stole My Heart’ …