Coal mining is a hard and dangerous job and is not a job that is normally associated with art. However numerous miners have turned their hands to painting and or sculpture. The northeast of England has contributed greatly, with the most well-known in the area being the Ashington Group, but there are a number of other local groups of miners-turned-artists.
This fantastic gallery is based on the collection of works accumulated over many years by two local individuals, Gillian Wales and Bob McManners, who were fans of the coal miner and painter Tom McGuiness. The collection is now (since 2017) housed in a 19th-century former bank building, fascinating in its own right, particularly the newly refurbished tower. The gallery has several permanent galleries and an area for temporary exhibitions. Recent subjects have included the Bevin Boys and Women in Coal Mining.
The original collection has expanded to include works by many other coal miners, mainly from northeast England and the Durham Coalfield in particular. The works are of various styles and the ones depicting working life underground are particularly evocative. Other works include socially important subjects such as the Durham Miners’ gala and depictions of the housing conditions within the coalfields. Other artists included in the permanent collection include Norman Cornish, Bob Olley, and Tom Lamb.
Since the death of the coal mining industry in Britain, the permanent record that this gallery provides is a historical resource that even transcends the artistic value.
