Opie's Cornish Masterpiece
Your Heritage
Date awarded
Location
Falmouth Penwerris
Applicant
Falmouth Art Gallery
Award Given
£44300
"It is wonderful that the Lottery is able to touch people's lives in so many positive ways."
Brian Stewart, Curator, Falmouth Art Gallery
Falmouth Art Gallery has purchased John Opie’s 18th century painting The Cornish Beggar with the help of a £44,300 HLF grant.
Opie, whose work has been likened to that of Velasquez and Caravaggio, is one of Cornwall’s leading artists. The purchase halted the painting’s export to America, and returned the painting from the Earl of Sutherland’s collection at Dunrobin Castle, Scotland, back to Cornwall, where it has been used by the gallery as a catalyst for an innovative educational programme.
The 12-month project had three main aims, which together met HLF’s strategic aims for learning and participation:
- acquire Opie’s The Cornish Beggar
- provide a wide-ranging and innovative activity programme for diverse and under-served groups
- train volunteers to deliver talks and lectures