Artist: Clarence Blackburn
Location: Endoscopy corridor, Level 3, SDH North

The four artworks by Clarence Blackburn (1914-1984) were donated to ArtCare in 2007 by a local art dealer. They are all oil on board and were some of the last completed by the artist in the early 1980s.

In ‘Mevagissey’, Blackburn depicts the bright mosaic-like houses on the hillside of this traditional Cornish fishing village, as an idyllic location. The scene, shown in vibrant paint, is shining in the bright sunlight that bursts in in the top right of the picture. Sailing ships below lead the viewer’s eye safely through the walls into the busy harbour bustling with pleasure craft and working boats. The quayside is active with fishermen and strolling tourists. Blackburn has painted the architecture and boats in minute detail which adds to the overall busy feel of the picture.

In ‘The Jetty’, Blackburn depicts a working fishing port showing fisherman offloading their catch and mending nets. ‘Headland, Cornwall’ shows sailing boats landing on a remote beach amongst rocky headlands in an unidentified peninsula. Blackburn captures the everyday working life of fisherman on the River Rother at Rye in the final painting entitled, ‘The Jetty and River Rother at Rye’.

Clarence Blackburn started his creative life as an apprentice at Ashworth & Bros, Stoke-on-Trent, who produced earthenware and china up until closure in 1969. Some of his early paintings were inspired by these locations and depict canal transport at the potteries. Clarence also studied at Burslem College of Art and took up painting and printmaking professionally in 1943. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of Painters-Etchers and Engravers and Royal Society of British Artists. His works include large scale paintings (such as these on display), smaller watercolours and etching prints, many of which show detailed observation of architecture and water transport.

Download our leaflet about the Clarence Blackburn panels (pdf)