Under the hammer......

A moody, winter seascape by John called “Sea Coal on a Beach, Northumberland,” signed & dated Feb 22nd 1967 is up for auction at Anderson & Garland in Newcastle on Thursday 13th October. AUCTION LINK HERE

John has written the title of the painting on a label which is stuck to the back of it and also wrote “number 3” which is a very strong indication that it was shown (& probably bought originally) at an exhibition. Typically John exhibited and sold paintings in the year that they were painted. We know of no exhibitions between 1966 - 1970 which we’ve always thought a bit strange as it was a very productive period in John’s life and we’ve also no record at all of a painting with this title. All in all, it is very likely that there is at least one more exhibitions’ worth of paintings to add to our currently “missing” 435.

Another chance....

We published a beautifully illustrated colour catalogue to accompany the Tyne & Tide Exhibition in South Shields. It’s a good read as it contains an introduction by the curator Geoff Woodward, a biography, features on the family’s search for missing paintings as well as memories of John’s home town of Lemington and a personal epilogue by the esteemed author Michael Chaplin. The 1st edition sold out but some 2nd edition copies are available for £15 including postage. When they’re gone, they’re gone !!! Email us at info@johnpeacepaintings.co.uk if you’d like to buy one.

North-East Culture Awards 2022

The Award is an annual celebration of the thriving arts and cultural scene in the NE of England and we’re very proud and pleased that “Tyne & Tide”, the retrospective exhibition of a collection of John’s North East work, has been entered for an award under the best Event or Exhibition category. We’re keeping everything crossed that the team from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums gets the recognition it deserves for mounting such an impressive & culturally significant exhibition which has resonated with so many people across the NE and beyond.

Going, going, gone !

Five of John’s paintings will be going under the hammer on Thursday 21st July at Anderson & Garland Auctioneers in Newcastle. They are from the collection of one of the owners of the Bondgate Gallery, Alnwick and are being sold by her estate. They were painted in the late 1960s / early 1970s.

Paste this link into your browser to take a look and register for online bidding : www.andersonandgarland.com/auction/search/?st=john%20peace&sto=0&au=539&w=False&pn=1

22,567 people......

…..visited the “Tyne & Tide” exhibition which closed last month. We had no idea what to expect but we’re really pleased that so many people got to see a selection of John’s works. The response has been wonderful.

We’ve been made aware that there’s an original oil painting called “Inner Farne from Bamburgh” for sale at auction on 16th June. Use the link below to the Anderson & Garland website to find out more : https://www.andersonandgarland.com/auction/lot/lot-766---john-peace---oil-on-board/?lot=284288&so=0&st=peace&sto=0&au=521&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=100&pn=1&g=-1#

Last few days......

……to see the exhibition at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. It’s open 10 - 5pm ‘til Friday 6th May & 11 - 4pm on Sat 7th then that’s it - those 80 works will probably never all been seen together again !

Many thanks to everyone who went to see the exhibition and to those that supported it by promoting it and telling others about it. Thanks also to all those who loaned paintings and objects, bought prints, cards and the poster and book that accompanied the exhibition. John would have been very happy that so many people were interested and got to see his wonderful work.

Hot off the press !!!

In association with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, we published a beautifully illustrated colour catalogue of all works currently on show at the Tyne & Tide Exhibition in South Shields. The 1st edition sold out so if you didn’t get a copy & want one 2nd edition copies are available online through the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums shop : https://shoptwmuseums.co.uk/collections/books-and-maps/products/book-re-print-tyne-and-tide-john-peace-selected-north-east-paintings and at the gallery in South Shields. The exhibition closes on 7 May.

435 to find.......& counting !

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery have launched an appeal to help us to find paintings of John’s that are missing to us as a family. We are keen to get details of as many as possible so that we can add them to a Catalogue Raisonne - a definitive list of works that we can verify as originals. If you have any leads please pass our details on or contact us via info@johnpeacepaintings.co.uk

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/south-shields-museum-missing-artworks-23188940

The painting below ”The New Scotswood Bridge under Construction” is missing. Oil on Board, 1989

Only 3 months left…..

…..to see more than 80 of John’s North-East works gathered together in the same place for the first and last time. Don’t forget to plan your visit to “Tyne & Tide” at South Shields Museum and Art Gallery before it’s too late ! Entry is free and details of opening times are at https://southshieldsmuseum.org.uk/

“South Shields is honoured to be exhibiting these wonderful paintings which offer us a glimpse into times gone by & into the beauty of our local landscape. Thank you for the privilege” S.H.

Museum & Art Gallery

Many people have been thoroughly enjoying visiting South Shields to see John’s exhibition and we’ve been thoroughly enjoying reading and hearing the many lovely comments about what they’ve seen !

If you’ve already been Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums would love to know what you thought, so we’d be very grateful if you could help by filling in the form at : https://uk.culturecounts.cc/s/6v7NDm/splash

This oil, “Sunderland (On The Wear)”, was painted in 1972. The original is on show now in South Shields.

The Tyne & Tide exibition....

…….is up & running at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. Taking over most of the top floor of the gallery, there’s lots to see. The carefully chosen selection by the curator Geoff Woodward shows just some of the hundreds of paintings John produced - landscapes depicting the region’s coast, rivers & moorland & scenes of the industrial heritage of the North East & of life in a changing world.

Situated right in the town centre, the gallery is only 5 minutes walk from South Shields Metro. There’s an excellent tea room so treat yourself to a hot drink & a slice of delicious homemade cake & if you want to make a blustery day of it head to the beaches a five minute drive away for fresh sea air & some warming fish & chips !

A November Afternoon……..

Tyne & Tide, the exhibition at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery of around 80 of John’s selected North-East works, opens on Saturday 13th. We are looking forward so much to seeing them all hung together…..some have never been seen before - others are old favourites. The painting below, “November Afternoon, King Edwards Bay” is one of them.

Over the last month we’ve had scans done of every painting in the exhibition ready for the accompanying catalogue & we’ve been able to use the new scans to expand the selection of prints & cards for sale through our website shop. If you’ve seen an image on the website or at the gallery you’d like a print of but that’s not in the shop - just email us & we’ll see if we can help. Profits go towards us being able to protect & promote John’s work. Cards and catalogues are also available at South Shields & the Laing Art Gallery.

A changing world...........

This month’s painting is called “Pit Rows, Lemington” & John painted it during the demolition of the pit village in 1969. Percy Pit heap can be seen in the background - the remains of Lloyd Street are on the left & Stanley Street on the right. Even today people look back with very fond & vivid memories of the close knit community that once lived there. The whole area has become a peaceful nature reserve with the remains of the heap hidden under hundreds of trees & there are vast areas of grassland where the houses once stood. People now enjoy walking, cycling, horse riding & the great views of the Tyne Valley from the top of the old pit heap. There is an abundance of wildlife & wild flowers & the reserve has been designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance due to its grassland butterflies. The painting will be exhibited at the Tyne & Tide exhibition opening at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery on 13th November.

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...it just keeps on growing !

We’ve pretty much finalised the selection of paintings (& a few sketches) that will be in the “Tyne & Tide” exhibition at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. The number of works included has gone from 60 last month to a final selection of 80….we’ve got to stop somewhere!!! There will be landscapes, portraits, seascapes & industrial paintings from all over the North-East and spanning over 60 years of John’s life. The exhibition opens on Saturday 13th November for six months and we think there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy ! This lovely watercolour is called “Sunday Morning”

“TYNE & TIDE”

“TYNE & TIDE” John Peace – Selected North-East Paintings

We’ve had various meetings this month with the team at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums about the exhibition of John’s work that’s scheduled to take place at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery from 13th November ‘21 until 7th May ’22. There will be at least 60 works all drawn and painted throughout the North-East and spanning more than 6 decades of John’s life. We’re all very pleased with the way it’s taking shape and hope to see you there !!! The painting below is called “Tynemouth, King Edward’s Bay” It was painted in oil on board in 1977 and is held in a private collection.

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Read all about it.......

At the beginning of June, Tony Henderson wrote a two page article about John and his work which was published in the Journal in Newcastle. The publicity from the Journal article and from an article in the Northumbrian magazine has led to several people getting in contact with details of paintings they own - a lovely oil painting of the Lemington Cone, five watercolours and a sketch. It’s great that word is getting out !

The Lemington Cone was built in 1797 as part of the Lemington Glassworks which closed in 1997. It is one of only four remaining cones out of hundreds built in England and is rumoured to be the largest cone ever built. It is Grade 2* listed, was restored in 1993, but is now falling into a state of disrepair with bushes growing out of the brickwork.

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It's just like waiting for a bus….

….you stand at the bus stop for ages hoping one will come along soon & suddenly there are loads at once !

There are five of John’s paintings being sold at auction on 8th June. See www.andersonandgarland.com for details. The watercolour below " Beach Ponies, Roker Sands” is one of them. Another is of the River West Allen, Northumberland in the autumn of 1991 & the lot includes a preparatory pencil sketch & a letter John wrote describing his thoughts on it’s composition. He often said that he’d pretty much know what a finished painting would look like before he’d even made the first brush stroke.

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North-East paintings

We now have revised dates for the exhibition of John’s work at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. It will open on 13th November ‘21 and run until 7th May ’22.

We’re gathering details and photos of John’s work for a back catalogue that we’re putting together and have a current total of 438 paintings that we’d love to find. Please email info@johnpeacepaintings.co.uk if you can help in any way. Thanks to the generosity of current owners we’ve details now of another 165 paintings “re-discovered” since John died in 2017.

This month’s painting, shown below, known as Crane at Dunston is in oil on board and is one of John’s larger works at 23” x 30”. It is signed and dated 1962 but is untitled. It is held in a private collection.

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Lost and found......

The image below is a detail from a beautiful work painted by John & shown in the February 2020 post. At the time it was a painting that we’d lost track of. If you scroll down, you can see the whole painting. Due to a very exciting turn of events we’ve since been in touch with the people who own it & they’ve given us details to use in John’s back catalogue. We now know that the painting is called “Tynemouth - A Summer’s Day” & is dated 1973. It was bought originally at an exhibition at the Bondgate Gallery in Alnwick & then sold again, more than 33 years later at an auction in Wiltshire, to the current owners.

Spring is on it's way............

This month’s painting is called “Spring - The Coquet Near Holystone”. The River Coquet rises in the glorious Cheviot Hills in Northumberland and wends its way through Coquetdale and part of the Northumberland National Park before reaching the North Sea at Amble. It’s a cheerful thought that before too long we’ll be able to get out and revel in the joys of nature again. Prints are available in the Print Shop if you feel like treating yourself or someone else. John painted this work in oil on board in 2001 and it is held in a private collection.

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