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Visit Penlee House & Museum

Penlee House is a Gallery, Museum, Cafe and Shop. Situated within Penlee Park, a space to reflect and great for family visits.

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A space for exhibitions & events

Alongside our Exhibition programme we run a variety of community events and workshops. The Newlyn School and Social history galleries change often. Find out what’s on.

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A space to learn

Penlee House is committed to lifelong learning. We run workshops for all age groups and offer a school workshop programme.

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A space for all

Built in 1865, as the home of the Branwell family. Penlee House is home to many paintings by members of the Newlyn School. It is also home to the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society collection.

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You can search and browse our collections online. We also have a section dedicated to the Newlyn School.

The Exceptional Harold Harvey

When 1 May 2024 - 29 September 2024

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Newlyn School artist Harold Harvey (1874 – 1941), Penlee House Gallery & Museum is staging a major exhibition of his work from 1 May to 29 September 2024.

Penzance-born Harvey was a true ‘son of Cornwall’, and a notable member of the Newlyn School artists’ colony, which flourished from 1880 to 1940. The son of a bank manager, he grew up in Penzance, and after studying under Norman Garstin and a spell in Paris, he settled to a quiet life in Newlyn with fellow artist Gertrude, painting the Cornwall he knew from the inside.

His early genre paintings of rustic and marine life, so characteristic of the first group of Newlyn artists, gradually gave way to a more sophisticated subject matter – Harvey was noted for his sumptuous interiors – and a flatter and more decorative style of painting. His early work might be compared with that of Stanhope Forbes, while his later paintings show clear affinities with those of fellow painters and friends such as Laura Knight and Dod and Ernest Procter.

The subjects that inspired him were those he found on his doorstep: Cornish people at work, children at play and intimate interiors.  Many of his contemporaries in Newlyn were visiting ‘observers’, but for Harold Harvey, who rarely left Cornwall although a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, painting the Cornish world was his whole life.

This exhibition demonstrates that Harvey was the equal of any of his contemporaries in both the first and second generations of Newlyn artists. Including more than sixty examples of his work, representing all stages of his career, this exhibition will delight those who know his work, and astonish and enchant all who are unfamiliar with his remarkable talent.

The exhibition is accompanied by a revised edition of the 2001 publication Harold Harvey: Painter of Cornwall, incorporating an art- historical overview of his career by Professor Kenneth McConkey, a biographical essay written by Pauline Sheppard and a greatly expanded catalogue raisonné of over 800 paintings produced by Peter Risdon. Sumptuously illustrated with a new selection of over 80 full-colour images, the book is published by Sansom & Co., Bristol and supported by Richard Green Gallery, London. Available from the Penlee House Gallery shop priced £25.00.

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Visit Us

Penlee House is a beautiful art gallery and museum, set within sub-tropical gardens, with a great café.

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Exhibitions

Our vibrant exhibition programme celebrates the nationally important art and history of West Cornwall.

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Learning

From school visits to family activities, talks and walks, there are plenty of learning opportunities at Penlee House.

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Our Café

Enjoy a delicious lunch or coffee at the Orangery Café, with its sunny terrace overlooking the park.

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