Penzance School of Art is an

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, housed in a purpose-built Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

opened in 1881.

History and description

The building, designed by

Silvanus Trevail Silvanus Trevail (11 November 1851 – 7 November 1903) was a British architect, and the most prominent Cornish architect of the 19th century. Early life Trevail was born at Carne Farm, Trethurgy in the parish of Luxulyan, Cornwall on 11 Nove ...

, was erected in 1880–81 and opened on 7 March 1881. It was the first permanent home of the Penzance School of Art, founded in 1853 by Henry Geoffroi. The building was financed by the gift of land and other donations. During the late 1880s there was remodelling of the façade, and a museum and science school were added, all designed by Henry White

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, a former student. The building is constructed of dressed granite, with roofs of Cornish slate. The front of the building facing Morrab Street is in English Revival style. In its early years, exhibitions were held at the museum of works by artists of the

Newlyn School The Newlyn School was an art colony of artists based in or near Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, on the south coast of Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early twentieth century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminisc ...

, such as

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was a British artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.Walter Langley Walter Langley (8 June 1852 – 21 March 1922) was an English painting, painter and founder of the Newlyn School of ''plein air'' artists. Biography He was born in Birmingham and his father was a journeyman tailor.1861 Census, RG9; Piece: 2 ...

. After the

Newlyn Art Gallery Newlyn Art Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK. Opened in 1895, designed by James Hicks of Redruth and financed by John Passmore Edwards the gallery was conceived as a home and exhibition venue for the Newlyn ...

was constructed in 1894, the museum was less often used as a venue for exhibitions, and it became a library, run by the Borough Council. Visiting lecturers have included

Lamorna Birch Samuel John "Lamorna" Birch, RA, RWS (7 June 1869 – 7 January 1955) was an English artist in oils and watercolours. At the suggestion of fellow artist Stanhope Forbes, Birch adopted the ''soubriquet'' "Lamorna" to distinguish himself from ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

and

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...

; a pottery school was established by

Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...

."Penzance School of Art"
BBC, 29 September 2003. Retrieved 2 April 2023. Past students include

Peter Lanyon George Peter Lanyon (8 February 1918 – 31 August 1964) was a British painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. Lanyon was one of the most important artists to emerge in post-war Britain. Despite his early death at the age ...

, Robin Welch,

Jack Pender Jack Pender (1918–1998) was a British artist. Pender was born in Mousehole, Cornwall. He started to paint in 1936 and went to the Penzance School of Art in 1938. At the end of the war, he spent a short time in Greece at the Athens School ...

and

Jonathon Coudrille Jonathon Xavier Coudrille (born Jonathan Coudrill; November 1945) is an English artist, musician and writer. He has lived from a young age on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, an area with which he is still closely associated. His father was th ...

."Surrealism on the edge"
''

Cornwall Today ''Cornwall Today'' is a monthly magazine, published 1994 onwards by Cornwall & Devon Media, from their offices at Phoenix Wharf, Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is aspirational in style, and includes features on Cornish celebrities, and soci ...

''. Version of 16 July 2011 retrieved via Wayback Machine. The school was run from 1984 by

Cornwall County Council Cornwall County Council ( kw, Konteth Konsel Kernow) was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. History Cornwall County Counc ...

, and since 1989 by

Penwith College Truro and Penwith College is a Tertiary College and Further Education College in Cornwall, United Kingdom. History Truro College was founded in 1993 as a new college in Gloweth near Threemilestone, Truro, Cornwall, to replace the Truro Sixt ...

; the library closed in 2016.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Penzance School of Art and Library Grade II listed library buildings Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall Buildings and structures in Penzance Art schools in England 1881 establishments in England