This talk will explore David Haughton’s life and career (1924-1991), notably his meticulously observed and rendered drawings, paintings and etchings of the former mining town of St Just, and his legacy as an inspirational teacher. Haughton drew creative inspiration from the West Penwith of Cornwall throughout his life: from his discovery of St Just in 1947 until he died in 1991. Haughton was also highly regarded for brightly coloured semi-abstract paintings based on grid structures and calligraphic forms made in the 1960s and ‘70s. The talk will contextualise Haughton’s work in relation to post-war British art and the ‘St Ives scene’, and his friends and contemporaries, including Prunella Clough, Barbara Hepworth, Rose Hilton, Ben Nicholson, John Wells and Bryan Wynter (to name but a few).

David Haughton’s daughter, Frances, grew up in St Ives and Newlyn and now lives in Sussex. Her talk will coincide with Sansom & Co’s publication of David Haughton: Art, Life and the Cornish Landscape in September 2026. Now semi-retired, Frances’s career was in the visual arts, crafts and public art. In 2018, Penlee House Gallery & Museum organised a highly successful and popular exhibition, David Haughton in St Just, which revived interest in his work. The exhibition catalogue is now out of print. Frances’s book brings fresh material to light about Haughton’s Cornwall years, including interviews with Haughton’s former students at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and recent archive discoveries.

A small exhibition of Haughton’s St Just work will show from 4th to 30th September at the Penwith Gallery in St Ives.

Date: Tuesday 22 September

Time: 7.30 pm

Location: Queen’s Hotel, Penzance

Cost: £7 for Friends. £15 for General Admission