Latest News

PERCY KELLY RETURNS TO THE BEACON JANUARY 21ST – FEBRUARY26th 2023
PERCY KELLY RETURNS TO THE BEACON JANUARY 21ST – FEBRUARY26th 2023 8th January 2023 QUESTION; WHAT DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON? A plasterer in Maryport; a man up a ladder in Hackney; a London commuter and two men called Ian in Dundee. THE ANSWER lies in the exhibition at the Beacon. It's 25 years since I last curated a Percy Kelly exhibition at the Beacon in Whitehaven.  It was the first exhibition in their new state of the art gallery so it is with a sense of nostalgia that I welcome Percy’s triumphant return. Although PK was born in Workington and lived in Allonby for m... Read More »»
GOODBYE TO ALL THAT AND HELLO TO 2023
GOODBYE TO ALL THAT AND HELLO TO 2023 22nd December 2022 This is not a robin – it’s a unique Percy Kelly Robin, one of his special hand-made Christmas cards! And its here across the century to wish you a happy Christmas break and an even happier new year.  As usual, I’m not sending out cards but giving a donation to Air Ambulance who look after us when we really need it (and let’s hope we never need it). So accept it as a virtual card from me. What a year this has been. Lots of surprises: some good, some bad and some absolutely awful. (War in Ukraine... Read More »»
ART DETECTIVES
ART DETECTIVES 1st December 2022 Percy Kelly rarely titled his paintings. Why would he if he didn’t want to show or sell his work? HE knew where they were of course! I have spent years figuring it out and not always succeeding. His sketch books have been a boon as I could sometimes follow him on one of his sketching jaunts and he did sometimes put an initial on his sketches to remind himself where he’d been (I’ve come to realise M is Maryport and that’s one of the easier ones!) but sadly only a few sketchbooks have survived. I... Read More »»
PERCY REVISITS THE BEACON
PERCY REVISITS THE BEACON 2nd November 2022 The Beacon in Whitehaven opened its doors for the first time 25 years ago in 1997.  To my joy it had a state of the art gallery.  Even better,  Northern Arts, the northern branch of the Arts Council who had provided a lot of the funding, asked me to mount the first exhibition in The Harbour Gallery with the works of Percy Kelly with particular emphasis on the area around Whitehaven.  Percy’s son Brian, who had inherited what we both thought was all his father’s work, came to the opening and was ... Read More »»
A VISIT TO SEE SASKIA
A VISIT TO SEE SASKIA 13th October 2022 The Beacon in Whitehaven is a friendly and interesting place to visit. It sits in pole position on West Strand of the harbour like a lighthouse- you can’t miss it -  and is open for visitors every day except Mondays (I misled you in my last newsletter – sorry).  It combines a museum and gallery and lays on special events and workshops. It’s an important part of the community in these parts. I went there yesterday to see a very special lady called Saskia. I met her up on the fourth floor behind ... Read More »»
REMBRANDT COMES TO WHITEHAVEN! 3rd October 2022 Sorry for the long silence. It’s been a bit busy here.  I’ve  just returned from a visit to London on several missions ( including 3 projects + a wedding and a funeral not all in London)  and it is good to see the rhythm of life returning in the art and culture world.  But it’s even better when London comes north. The National Gallery has chosen just three venues outside London to be part of what they call their MASTERPIECE TOUR when a major work is selected from their permanent collection and... Read More »»
THE SUNDIAL
THE SUNDIAL 20th July 2022 THE SUNDIAL Last week found me in Gilcrux one of the lovely small Cumbrian villages scattered between the west coast and the Lake District prompted by a Percy Kelly watercolour of the church on the back of which he had written SUNDIAL in very faint pencil which I found intriguing. Most of Kelly’s works don’t give any clues to a back story but this one is full of them possibly because he was not yet averse to selling anything. He had joined Lake Artists and went off painting with Heaton Cooper. ... Read More »»
ALLONBY BACKS - THE STORY OF A PAINTING
ALLONBY BACKS - THE STORY OF A PAINTING 9th May 2022 Sorry for my recent lack of communications. I have been grounded for the last 6 months.  My partner Michael has been seriously ill and my world shrank to the circumference of just a few miles. My position as chief carer was all-embracing which meant that the Kelly website suffered from neglect. I will update it very soon. But things are changing and I’m pleased to say Michael is now slowly recovering and my days are filled with surprises, coincidences and some remarkable findings which I will t... Read More »»
WORDS BY THE WATER & ANON3 Last chance to buy!
WORDS BY THE WATER & ANON3 Last chance to buy! 12th March 2022 Two years ago, in March 2020, I gave my talk on Rosalie’s Painting (an Anne Redpath oil which had hung in a barn in Borrowdale for 50 years unnoticed and then has lain unseen in the store room of Keswick Museum) in the main house of the theatre in Keswick.  BUT … The news about Covid was spreading and we were all feeling uneasy and fearful. Nobody realised then that this would be the last Words by the Water Festival for two years.  Nobody knew what was going to happen - there was an underlying s... Read More »»
THE RELUCTANT AUCTIONEER
THE RELUCTANT AUCTIONEER 8th February 2022 I’ve always been fascinated by auctions. They are pure theatre;  full of drama, excitement and sometimes skulduggery. When I was first asked to advise on the resale of the 1992 winning Wallbank in November 21 last year, I had decided not to get involved. My partner Michael had just been admitted to hospital with a damaged spine.  I asked around the people who I thought might be interested but had little time to devote to it. The owners got in touch again after Christmas when Michael had been re... Read More »»