A month-long trail of exhibitions, events and activities across Dorset celebrating the life and work of the painter Fra H Newbery.

In April 2008 Dorset will become the venue for an exciting, month-long trail of exhibitions, events and activities celebrating the life and work of the painter Fra H Newbery.

Newbery was brought up in Bridport and retired to Corfe Castle in 1919 after a long and illustrious career as one of the most significant directors of Glasgow School of Art. As well as a respected painter in his own right he is perhaps best known for his pivotal role in promoting the work of his protégé, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Throughout his life Newbery’s driving force was “to make art more readily available to a wider public, attempting to relate it to their daily lives and to celebrate the traditions of the specific localities in which the works were sited”.

The Trail has these same aspirations at its heart. Exhibitions will be the starting point for a number of different activities (such as talks tours and workshops) that will explore the social, economical and industrial heritage of the communities in which Newbery worked.

Project manager Crystal Johnson said: “Newbery is a hugely important figure who influenced artistic and educational developments internationally. We should be immensely proud that he started his education in Bridport and that it was his early years in this part of the country that inspired him to achieve such great things."

“The Newbery Trail is a fantastic opportunity to highlight Bridport and Dorset more widely and we hope that during the Trail period we will be welcoming an increased number of visitors to the area."

“As well as attracting people to the area this project is very much about our local communities. Through the Trail we are running workshops with local young people and there will opportunities for everyone of every age to find out more about our heritage, perhaps even learning some of the traditional skills of the area such as net making or stone carving.”

The project has been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Dorset County Council, West Dorset District Council, Bridport Town Council and Purbeck Heritage.

Full details of the exhibitions and events are available on the website. A printed leaflet detailing all elements of the Trail has also been produced. This will be available at libraries, tourist information centres and other venues across Dorset in March.

 

For more information please contact project manager Crystal Johnson on 07968 577867 or e-mail info@franewbery.co.uk
To look at pictures, go to the gallery. If you would like to use any of these pictures to illustrate an article, please contact Crystal on 01308 458703 or Margery Hookings, on 01308 868532.