When a curator at a British museum found a plank at the back of a prominent When Norman Cornish was creating a work of art for an upcoming exhibition, he made a ‘magical’ discovery: on the back was a self-portrait of the coal miner turned celebrated artist.
The newly discovered painting went on display for the first time on Saturday as part of an exhibition at the Bowes Museum in northern England, along with dozens of other rare artworks by Cornish and his contemporary LS Lowry. The exhibition runs until January 2025.
A colleague ran around excitedly shouting, “Jon’s found a painting,” said Vicky Sturrs, the museum’s director of programs and collections, as she recalled curator Jon Old’s discovery in April.
Cornish, famous for his evocative images of the working lives of miners in the north-east of Britain, was the most famous of a group who became known as pit painters. In vivid, definitive brushstrokes and a muted palette, he captured the rough street life of mining communities and the camaraderie of communal gatherings. It was a life he was intimately familiar with: he had worked as a coal miner for more than three decades.
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Old found the self-portrait while working on a painting called “Bar Scene,” which depicts miners in caps hunched over in a pub, the Bowes Museum said in a statement. The painting — on loan from Durham County Council — oddly had a backing in the frame and the work was stretched across a picture frame, Old said in the statement.
“So I decided to remove the board to see if it affected the painting, and to my surprise, another beautiful painting appeared on the back, which was truly magical,” he added.
The Cornish family, Sturrs says, meticulously documented all of his works with unfinished elements on the back of the canvases. They may have been things he was just trying out or dropped before moving on to the other side.
“We found something that no one knew about,” she said. “It was an ‘oh my God’ moment.”
The 22 by 29 inch “Bar Scene” was acquired by Durham City Council in 1961, Sturrs said, meaning the self-portrait had gone unnoticed for more than 60 years.
Amanda Hopgood, leader of Durham City Council, described the work as “remarkable” and said in a statement that “it is a fantastic addition to the wonderful body of work for which Norman Cornish is renowned.”
It is unclear when exactly the discovery was made, the museum said. The self-portrait, painted on a used canvas, shows Cornish in his younger years with a thoughtful look. It is the 29th self-portrait in the artist’s oeuvre, the museum said.
The challenge, Sturrs said, was to display the new work and “Bar Scene” at the same time. They created a special pedestal, she said, to rotate the paintings throughout the day so viewers could see both at different points.
Cornish was born in the small mining town of Spennymoor in Durham County in 1919 and began working in mines at the age of 14. When he turned 15, he joined a social institute that became a breeding ground for creative talent, known as the Pitman’s Academy.
In 1966 he left the mines and established himself as one of the most sought-after British artists of the 20th century. He died in 2014.
Sturrs described Cornish’s work as warm and intimate, focusing on the claustrophobia, darkness and sacrifice associated with the lives of miners.
“There’s an intimacy in his touch and his scar that you can’t help but be drawn into,” she said.
