This exhibition showcases over 25 of Lamorna Birch’s paintings from Austin’s personal collection.
A painter of pure landscape, self-taught and self-made, Samuel John ‘Lamorna’ Birch RA (1869 – 1955) was the founder and father figure of the Lamorna colony of artists and writers in West Cornwall. Birch had a lifelong association with Lamorna, from where he took his name.
A Painter Laureate refers to the title of Austin Wormleighton’s 1995 biography about Birch. Austin was a founding member of the Lamorna Society and was President right up until his death in 2019. This exhibition is being staged to celebrate the second edition of the book, updated by Austin and published posthumously by his partner, Jo Sunter.
This exhibition showcases over 25 of Lamorna Birch’s paintings from Austin’s personal collection.
Galleries 2,3,4. A selection of Newlyn School paintings is on view in Gallery 1.

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Visitor information
Address
Morrab Road, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 4HE
01736 363625
Opening times
1 April - 31 October: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm
1 November – 31 March: Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm
Last admission 30 mins before closing.
From 14 July until 29 September Penlee House and The Orangery Cafe will also be open on Sundays.
Open Bank Holidays