TO commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Newlyn School artist Harold Harvey (1874-1941), Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance is staging a major exhibition of his work until September 29. 

At the end of July, members of the Bodinnar family came to Penlee House for a special tour of the exhibition. Harvey was from a large family, he was the eldest of eight children, and his wife Gertrude (née Bodinnar) was likewise from a large family of ten children. Although Harold and Gertrude had no children of their own, their numerous great-nephews and great-nieces and their descendants live all over the world, with many still in Cornwall. 

Kim Conchie, a great-nephew of Gertrude’s, said: “As descendants of the Bodinnar side, we have been brought up knowing about Harold Harvey, the Cornish painter and loving his paintings like The Blue Door. But never have we seen such an exceptional collection and so many to admire from his different genres, all with a deep passion for Cornwall from fishing to farming, mining to lounging on the beach. The Penlee exhibition really is a delight.” 

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. 

Harvey’s 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 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 should enchant those who know his work and all who are unfamiliar with his remarkable talent. 

This 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 more than 800 paintings produced by Peter Risdon, which is illustrated with a new selection of over 80 full-colour images.