Latest News

CUMBRIAN BRIDGE IN WINTER
CUMBRIAN BRIDGE IN WINTER 7th March 2015 An oil painting by Percy Kelly is up for auction at Christie's, London on19th March.  Kelly died in 1993 and since his 2 exhibitions at Messums in Cork Street, his work has now begun to trickle through London Auction Houses and is making good prices. Bridge in Winter was first exhibited in a sell-out show of 23 oil paintings at Castlegate House in 2002 on behalf of Kelly's first wife Audrey who discovered them while clearing out her loft due to a leaking pipe. She had forgotten they were up ther... Read More »»
THE ARTS AND THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE.
THE ARTS AND THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE. 12th January 2015 After a terrible start to the year for writers, artists and the whole of mankind, let us all continue to express ourselves freely without fear and protect our right to do so. There are 2 interesting events for your diary in Cumbria this spring: The programme for the annual Festival of words and ideas -  Words by the Water  6th – 15th March is available www.wordsbythewater.org.uk and is jam packed with stimulating stuff. This is at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. I’ll keep you posted but some thi... Read More »»
NOT JUST A ROBIN
NOT JUST A ROBIN 24th December 2014 This is not just a Robin –nor is it a round robin prevalent at this time of year - it’s a Percy Kelly robin. Like so much of Kelly’s work it is the essence of simplicity. But this robin has attitude. It has character. It’s nothing like the feathered bird which is on the bird feeder outside right now.  Yet we all recognise it as a robin. Simplicity is hard to achieve. To gouge out lino to make this 5 colour print was a complex process. No wonder he had to start in September. No wonder he got anno... Read More »»
BETTER THAN PENGUINS
BETTER THAN PENGUINS 26th November 2014 It’s a year since the 6 Percy Kelly trails along the west Cumbrian coast were launched. Mainly selling in the Cumbrian  galleries and on line they are proving very popular. Of the 2000 boxes printed there are now just 200 left. So there are potentially 1800 people walking around the coastal towns and villages being guided by Percy’s paintings and drawings although I suspect that some have been purchased simply for the interest in his work – the buyers doing a virtual walk from their armchairs. H... Read More »»
THE POET, THE ARTIST AND THE SCIENTIST 5th September 2014 There is a very small exhibition of Percy Kelly letters at the Cumbria Archive Centre in Scotch Street Whitehaven at the moment. It contains 7 table top panels telling the story of Kelly’s life specifically in relation to the letters he wrote to his friend Joan David, a scientist, who supported him in the last ten years of his life and his friend the poet Norman Nicholson. There are three small display cases of his original illustrated letters to them both. The material was deposited in the Arch... Read More »»
STOP PRESS
STOP PRESS 30th April 2014 Buzzing round Maryport yesterday looking into signing for the trails, I met with a problem. Having climbed up to Mote Hill (1) from the Mill Street car park (or Maryport Station) the trail takes you down a stepped  path to the riverside (2)  to join up with Well Lane(3)  and then the harbour bridge (4). Please be aware that this path is blocked by bushes and debris before it joins Well Lane at the bottom. People walking dogs told me they get round when the tide is low but this is hazardous and n... Read More »»
NEED FOR VIGILANCE 4th April 2014 A big thank you to all those people who got in touch after reading yesterday’s newsletter, . You alerted me to the fact that someone had lifted a Kelly image from a leaflet and was selling it on Ebay as prints.  I immediately challenged him pointing out the breach of copyright and he has done the right thing and withdrawn the prints from sale (£20 each unframed). Last year Kelly’s Blue Door and Sun was similarly for sale on Ebay @ £40 along with a whole raft of ‘prints’ from many Royal Academici... Read More »»
THE MAN WHO ‘DISCOVERED’ PERCY
THE MAN WHO ‘DISCOVERED’ PERCY 3rd April 2014 The Kelly story keeps on unravelling. When Percy Kelly gave up the sub post office in Great Broughton and moved to Allonby in 1958, he wrote to the big industrial firms along the West Coast for permission to paint on site. He was summarily turned down by all of them except the Silk Mills at Hensingham, Whitehaven. Director Nicholas (Miki) Sekers couldn’t understand why anyone would want to paint his factory so he asked Bill Hamilton, his chief designer, to see Percy and give him a polite refusal... Read More »»
A SECOND CHANCE
A SECOND CHANCE 4th March 2014 The Inside out programme with the Percy Kelly piece was shown in the South last night so for those of you who missed it first time round here is the chance to see it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03x0r4r/Inside_Out_North_West_03_03_2014/ The response to the first showing was tremendous so keep the comments coming. Christies Auction House have a fairly impressive Kelly letter in their March 20th Kensington sale. Written from St David’s February 1979, it features a beautiful detailed wate... Read More »»
INSIDE OUT
INSIDE OUT 19th February 2014 Inside Out is a magazine programme which goes out across the North of England. On Monday it showed a lovely piece about Percy Kelly with loads of great images, a wander around his haunts and a chat with people who knew him. Here is the link so you can get it on i player. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03vq4qv/Inside_Out_North_East_and_Cumbria_17_02_2014/ However be aware that there is an 8 minute piece about foster homes before it so don't think you have the wrong programme. You have unti... Read More »»