Exhibition

Norman Cornish: A Life in Sketchbooks

26 June 2026 - 3 January 2027

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Free entry and free exhibitions

Intimate exhibition revealing Norman Cornish’s drawings, paintings and sketchbooks depicting Durham coalfield life.

Step inside the working imagination of Norman Cornish in this intimate exhibition, bringing together finished drawings, paintings and watercolours alongside the preparatory sketches that shaped them. Across a lifetime, Cornish filled 269 sketchbooks, capturing the streets, people, and communities of the Durham coalfield with remarkable insight and warmth. His belief that sketchbooks should “have a life of their own… to teach people to look at things” comes alive in this display, which also features a recent acquisition, strengthening The Bowes Museum’s collection of one of the North’s celebrated twentieth-century artists.

This listing is supplied by one of our museum partners and is not moderated by Art Fund.

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Free entry and free exhibitions
IndividualTiana Clarke Please note this is an example card and not a reflection of the final product

Visitor information

Address

The Bowes Museum

Newgate, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
01833 690606

Opening times

Mon – Sun, 10am – 5pm Closed 25, 26 Dec and 1 Jan

Visitor information