Miner painter or minor master: Norman Cornish's modernism and his relationship to the art historical canon

Abstract

This thesis investigates the education, artistic methods, and reception of Norman Cornish – known as a ‘Pitman Painter’ – within a critical framework of British canonical art. Previous research on Cornish has used a limited art regional cultural perspective that prioritises his contribution to North-East visual culture and identity. However, these accounts are based on a partial knowledge of his techniques and education and thus potentially have the capacity to be misleading and overly simplistic. Instead, this research re-evaluates Cornish’s artwork with regard to his modernist tendencies – his use of artistic referencing, choice of materials and artistic process in key artworks – and thus provides the first sustained study of Cornish in relation to British art history, in particular, Realism during the post-war era. This study makes use of close material and artistic analysis, as well as historical institutional and art historical frameworks. This innovative approach draws upon conventions of connoisseurship, and social art history to explore Cornish’s self-taught nature, analyses his artworks, and further unpacks his reception as a ‘Pitman Painter’ and asks how a regional artist is received nationally. Furthermore, this research draws on previously unused archival materials lent to Northumbria University by the Cornish family after the artist’s death.
Essentially it is argued that Cornish’s auto-didacticism and education at the Spennymoor Settlement gave the artist an incomplete education compared to the traditional art school offer of the time, leaving the artist and his work in a difficult space positioned between his working-class origins and the established art world. Nonetheless, the artist was able to draw from his working-class experience and old and modern masters, such as Rembrandt and Degas, to contribute to modern art in Britain. Likewise, the artist's methods reflect this tension; on the one hand, he made use of conventional materials and artistic referencing of established art historical figures; on the other, he developed a distinct style through his use of the Flo-master pen, hardboard, and unconventional approach, but ultimately the artist failed to gain access to the art establishment that he valorised. It is argued that this is, in part, thanks to previous narratives regarding Cornish as a ‘Pitman Painter’ and his work as a token of North-East regional identity which have served to ‘other’ the artist, and, while they have boosted his regional appeal, ultimately, they did so at the cost of pigeonholing him and perpetuating arguably negative stereotypes. This thesis leverages Cornish’s personal formal innovations and art historical engagements to contribute to a growing body of literature that considers working-class art not for its authentic biography or regional identity but for its significant contributions to art historical knowledge and understanding.

Date of Award	16 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Matthew Potter (Supervisor), Jean Brown (Supervisor) & Martyn Hudson (Supervisor)