Laing Art Gallery (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums)
New Bridge Street
Newcastle
Tyne and Wear
NE1 8AG
England
Website
Main website
General enquiries
Telephone
General enquiries
0191 232 7734
Textphone users
18001 0191 232 7734
Fax
General enquiries
0191 222 0952
Situated in the centre of Newcastle, the Laing is home to an impressive collection of art and sculpture. Its exhibition programme is renowned for bringing the biggest names in art to the North East and includes historic, modern and contemporary art.
This gallery has a Designated Collection of national importance and its permanent displays feature important 18th and 19th century paintings including dramatic landscapes by John Martin.
Venue Type:
Gallery
The Gallery's exceptional permanent collection includes British oil paintings, watercolours, ceramics, silver and glassware. It is of national and international significance and enjoys Designated Status. Highlights include: Isabella and the Pot of Basil by Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Laus Veneris by Burne Jones (1835- 1898), The Breton Shepherdess by Gauguin (1848-1903), The Lovers by Spencer (1891-1959) and an important group of works by John Martin (1789- 1854).
Early 20th century artists represented in the Gallery include Auerbach, Nicholson, Hitchen, Bomberg and Moore as well as a growing contemporary collection. The Laing's watercolours are widely recognised as being of exceptional importance, including work by Paul Sandby, J R Cozens, Thomas Girtin, J M W Turner, David Cox, Samuel Palmer, Edward Lear and J F Lewis. An extensive decorative art collection embraces locally produced glass, pottery and silver. Beilby enameled glass, Newcastle silver, North East pottery, early 19th century creamwares and 19th and 20th earthenwares by Maling pottery are of particular significance.
Not all of these items are on permanent display. Please contact the gallery before making a special visit.
Collection details
World Cultures, Fine Art, Decorative and Applied Art
Key artists and exhibits
- Designated Collection
Matt Stokes: Give to me the Life I Love
A film installation by artist Matt Stokes, which tells a story of Bangladeshi identity from the perspective of teenagers living in the UK at different moments in time.
‘Give to me the Life I Love’ draws on accounts of the struggles faced by Bangladeshis arriving in the UK during the 1970s, considered alongside experiences of today’s younger generation.
The film references Bengali literature, traditional storytelling, music and television as a means of accessing Bangladeshi identity and heritage.
Matt Stokes immerses himself in situations to look at the events that shape people’s lives and values. His projects develop into films, installations and events that utilize the collective knowledge and skills within communities.
Give to me the Life I Love is a co-commission between Whitechapel Gallery, London and Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle.
Suitable for
- 16-17
- 18+
Admission
Free.
Website
Sunlit Pleasures: Painting in Newlyn & St Ives
Between about 1880 and 1930, the small Cornish fishing village of Newlyn became a magnet for artists. The work they produced, enhanced by an often-remarked upon quality of light, made the name of this village, and later the nearby village of St Ives, famous throughout the art world – a fame the area retains to this day.
This exhibition will draw on the collections of the Laing Art Gallery, together with key loans from within Tyne & Wear Museums & Archives. Including the work of important figures such as Harold and Laura Knight, Stanhope & Elizabeth Forbes, and Samuel ‘Lamorna’ Birch, it will explore the artistic development of the area and look at the reasons why Newlyn and St Ives has had such a lasting effect on so many artists.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
Painted Faces
Painted Faces is an exhibition inspired by the recent acquisition of a work by internationally known contemporary artist Marlene Dumas, which depicts the talented singer-songwriter, Amy Winehouse.
Dumas’ ‘Back to’, 2011 will be shown alongside other works on paper from the collection.
Further interpretations of beauty will be presented through historical works including watercolours by Pre-Raphaelite and Pre-Raphaelite-influenced artists, which capture the intensity of the face and figure in detail, as well as intricately painted Chinese decorative portraits made in the style of late nineteenth-century artist Tinqua and a Chinese painted fan belonging a tradition known as the ‘one hundred faces’ fan.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free
Website
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/laing-art-gallery/whats-on/exhibitions/painted-faces.html
Divine Bodies
Old Master paintings are alive with vivacious, seductive and curious figures.
Divine Bodies combines exceptional European pre-1800 paintings from the Hatton, Shipley and Laing Art Gallery collections with important loans, including many exciting contemporary artworks.
The exhibition ranges from historical pictures by Zurbarán, Wtewael and Procaccini to contemporary works by Cindy Sherman, Marina Abramovic and John Currin. They reveal intriguing links across the centuries, depicting themes such as idealisation and imperfection, allure and shame, and youth and ageing in relation to both male and female bodies.
The exhibition is supported by the National Gallery, the Art Fund, Friends of the Laing Art Gallery and Connect through Culture.
Suitable for
- 16-17
- 14-15
- 18+
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/laing-art-gallery/whats-on/exhibitions/divine-bodies.html
Paul Noble Marble Hall
It brought together the Laing Art Gallery, Locus+ and mima, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, with Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea in Venice to present Interloqui, an exhibition coinciding with the 54th Venice Biennale of Art. A selection of his ceramics are also on display.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/laing-art-gallery/whats-on/exhibitions/paul-noble-marble-hall.html
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