Spotlight Talk: Elizabeth & Stanhope Forbes – A Marriage of Art

Saturday 17 May, 11am – 12noon | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum

Hear from Natasha Wilcockson, Curatorial and Exhibitions Assistant, as she introduces the exhibition Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes: A Marriage of Art.

This talk is about a wonderful partnership formed between two artists at the turn of the nineteenth century: the mutual love and admiration they had for one another and the ways in which they influenced the direction of British art. These artists are Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes, who married in 1889 and together formed the famous ‘Newlyn School’ of painting in Cornwall.

Situated upon a hillside surrounded by a wild garden and overlooking the harbour and Mounts Bay, the Newlyn School provided enormous inspiration for artists seeking to paint en plein air (in the open air) in an impressionist style.

Elizabeth was labelled ‘the Queen of Newlyn’ for her contributions to the art colony. However, as is often the fate of women artists of the period, she came to be regarded as an appendage of her more famous husband and, over time, her influence within this story became obscured.

This talk and exhibition places Elizabeth and Stanhope as equals, a power couple that worked together to change the course of British art as vanguards of Impressionism.

£7. Book your place. Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased separately online here or bought from the shop on the day of the talk.

Image: Elizabeth Forbes, Autumn Breeze, undated, Penlee House Gallery and Museum (detail).