Latest News

THE INVERTED LAMP POST - WHATEVER NEXT PERCY!
THE INVERTED LAMP POST - WHATEVER NEXT PERCY! 19th March 2023 I’ve just acquired this large Kelly painting. In the absence of a title (not uncommon with Percy) I have called it Harrington. You will have noticed that he had a tendency to do little pencil or biro sketches of some detail he wished to remember within a painting. This time it’s upside down on the left which is a novelty. Lamp posts and telegraph poles were a favourite of his because they gave him an important vertical to balance the work.  I have managed to identify the location of some of his ... Read More »»
SURPRISES AND DISCOVERIES
SURPRISES AND DISCOVERIES 4th March 2023 Its all over at The Beacon. The most successful exhibition ever for them in terms of both attendance and income. Percy has outdone Rembrandt in visitor numbers and not many artists can make that claim.  It’s sad to see it all come down. Generous lenders will get them back to grace their walls  again this week. The 2 lucky people who won the bid for 2 of those for sale (Interior Sekers Silk Mill and Parton looking South) will soon have theirs on their walls as well. The 3rd -  MT17 in Whitehaven... Read More »»
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. 20th February 2023 Only six days to go before Percy Kelly’s Copeland exhibition comes to a close at the Beacon in Whitehaven. It has been a resounding success with hundreds of visitors every day since it opened in January. The wonderful front of house staff have really enjoyed being unusually busy in the quiet months of January and February. It has reached an all time  record in revenue and visitor numbers. Tony Calvin  who has done Tuesday talks and Sunday trails throughout and his wife Sal who has entertained sc... Read More »»
BBC local TV visits the Beacon 14th February 2023 Every day at the Beacon is a busy one at the moment. People are pouring in to see Kelly's Copeland and are not disappointed. Mark McAlindon was there today and recorded a piece for Look North which will be shown tomorrow (wednesday) between 6.30 and 7.00pm.  I and my co curator Tony Calvin guided Mark round the exhibition while his wife Sal did the meeting and greeting of all the people turning up.  It was Tuesday so Tony was back on duty at 1pm doing his lecture and tour  bringing the Exhibitio... Read More »»
PERCY ON AIR 5th February 2023 After another week of record visitor numbers I have just heard from Radio Cumbria that they are broadcasting the interview Tony Calvin and I did last week with Helen Millican as we strolled round  the exhibition. This is going out tomorrow evening (Monday 6th) between 7 and 8pm  If you aren’t able to listen then - here’s the BBC Sounds link, valid for about a month from 10pm on Monday evening  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dyfc78  (For those of you out of area this is the listen live lin... Read More »»
THE POWER OF PERCY!
THE POWER OF PERCY! 28th January 2023 THE POWER OF PERCY The Kelly exhibition is breaking all visitor records at the Beacon. The media have responded very well  and given us a lot of publicity. Five pages in full colour in Cumbria Life came out on the day of the opening. After 2 busy days at the weekend the Beacon had sold more annual passes than ever because people intend to come several times especially with another masterpiece from the National Gallery making its way north following Percy and also it makes economic sense. It ha... Read More »»
COINCIDENCES
COINCIDENCES 24th January 2023 The Kelly exhibition at the Beacon is already breaking visitor records.  Like the 2017/18 retrospective at Tullie House it is never empty during opening times and I am catching up with people I haven’t seen for ages. Some showed surprise at finding me there on Saturday  and confessed that they thought I’d retired. Excuse me! What’s retired? (I will be at the Beacon every Saturday until 26th February 1.00 – 3.00pm) Border TV  was in there this morning with cameraman and interviewer. The footage ... Read More »»
THE VIEW FROM THE TOP Percy Kelly at The Beacon Whitehaven.
THE VIEW FROM THE TOP Percy Kelly at The Beacon Whitehaven. 18th January 2023 What a week this is – it’s all coming together nicely. Everything is dropping into place and more mysteries keep popping up to be debated and/or solved. This is an exhibition you shouldn’t miss. The Kelly Retrospective in 2017/18 at Tullie House was magnificent and massive in every way but this one is different - it gains from its limitations. It focuses mainly on work he did in the 60’s in a specific area – Copeland - which holds it all together in this much more intimate space. There is a lot... Read More »»
PERCY KELLY RETURNS TO THE BEACON JANUARY 21ST – FEBRUARY26th 2023
PERCY KELLY RETURNS TO THE BEACON JANUARY 21ST – FEBRUARY26th 2023 8th January 2023 QUESTION; WHAT DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON? A plasterer in Maryport; a man up a ladder in Hackney; a London commuter and two men called Ian in Dundee. THE ANSWER lies in the exhibition at the Beacon. It's 25 years since I last curated a Percy Kelly exhibition at the Beacon in Whitehaven.  It was the first exhibition in their new state of the art gallery so it is with a sense of nostalgia that I welcome Percy’s triumphant return. Although PK was born in Workington and lived in Allonby for m... Read More »»
GOODBYE TO ALL THAT AND HELLO TO 2023
GOODBYE TO ALL THAT AND HELLO TO 2023 22nd December 2022 This is not a robin – it’s a unique Percy Kelly Robin, one of his special hand-made Christmas cards! And its here across the century to wish you a happy Christmas break and an even happier new year.  As usual, I’m not sending out cards but giving a donation to Air Ambulance who look after us when we really need it (and let’s hope we never need it). So accept it as a virtual card from me. What a year this has been. Lots of surprises: some good, some bad and some absolutely awful. (War in Ukraine... Read More »»