The Haddock Center and British Impressionism

Son of Sea, 1910

Stanhope Alexander Forbes

Gerald Haddock founded the Haddock Center, a 501 (c)(3) corporation, to promote art, education, and scholarship in the community, focusing on the preservation, study, and analysis of the paintings of Stanhope Alexander Forbes. Forbes was the father of the Newlyn School of Painting, which depicted a revolution in British Impressionism. Forbes was a plein air painter who found beauty in the ordinary. He worked outdoors and painted scenes from the everyday lives of the working class. His work captures the struggles and joys of the human spirit.

However the work of Forbes and other artists from the Newlyn School had been largely forgotten until recently. According to an article in the Western Morning News, the works Forbes and other artists of the Newlyn School were not highly prized paintings; many of the works were "stripped from frames and discarded or allowed to decay." (Read the full article HERE).

Once the Tate Gallery in London reappraised the Newlyn artists in the mid-1970's, interest in the Newlyn School of Art has grown and continues to grow. In June 2000 one of Forbes paintings was sold at an auction for £1.1 million, a record price for any of his works (see the Cornishman article HERE).

Antique Dealer and Collectors Guide noticed the rising popularity of paintings from the Newlyn School. An article in the December issue notes that the paintings by Newlyn artists are rapidly becoming more desirable for art lovers and collectors. The article, available HERE, includes a Forbes painting owned by Gerald Haddock,  Son of Sea, which (at the time of publication) had quadrupled in value since its purchase. The excitement and interest in the Newlyn School of Art has only grown stronger over the years.

The Haddock Center has exhibited fourteen paintings from the Newlyn School of Painting, all of which are owned either by the Haddock Center or the Center's President, Gerald Haddock. Currently, the Haddock Center is exhibiting works by four British Impressionists:

• Stanhope Alexander Forbes (1857 - 1947)
• Walter Langley (1852 - 1922)
• Sir George Clausen (1852 - 1944)
• Henry Herbert La Thangue (1859 - 1929)

The Haddock Center is showcasing a new painting recently purchased by Gerald Haddock. On his last trip to London, Mr. Haddock attended an auction at Sotheby's in London which included several works by British Impressionists. Up for auction was a painting by Henry Herbert LaThangue. LaThangue is another well-known British Impressionist who painted in Newlyn. In fact, Mr. Haddock discovered during his tour of the Tate Britain and by studying their archives that Stanhope Forbes (father of the Newlyn school) traveled with LaThangue in Brittany. The Tate has 700 letters that Forbes wrote to his mother. Thirty-seven of those letters were written to her during his travels with LaThangue. Undoubtedly, the two artists influenced each other’s’ work.

Gerald Haddock purchased the LaThangue painting Fetching Water from Lake Garda from Sotheby’s for collaboration with an exhibit at the Haddock Center. This generous loan from Mr. Haddock is a significant addition to the exhibit of British Impressionist art at the Haddock Center.

Fetching Water from Lake Garda

Henry Herbert LaThangue

For more information on the Haddock Center, please contact Haddock Investments at 817-885-8390 and visit www.haddockcenter.com.

For more information on the Newlyn School of Painting, please visit the website of the Penlee House Gallery and Museum athttp://www.penleehouse.org.uk/.