“IN my art school days, the names of Durham, Richmond castle, Greta Bridge and Barnard Castle were places to be dreamed about, where subjects abounded, where every turn of the river or bend of the road provided a host of new material for paint or pencil, where change from sunshine to shadow, and spring to autumn, gave new shape, character and individuality to ordinary and out-of-the ordinary features in the landscape.” So wrote artist Kenneth Steel for the 1947 Darlington Society of Arts autumn programme. Here, in North Yorkshire and south Durham, he said the artist could find “shapely bridges and ruined castles, turbulent rivers, huge banks of trees and homely, out-of-the-way hamlets nestling under a background of hills”.
Now, for the first time in more than 60 years, Steel is back in the land of shapely bridges and turbulent rivers. An exhibition of his work, Places in Time, which has a heavy emphasis on local scenes, opens today in the art gallery in Darlington library. “People who know, or who have been to, these places will love his work – there’s a nostalgic feel to it,” says Edward Yardley, curator and Steel enthusiast.
Barnard Castle bridge over the Tees. In 1947, Kenneth Steel wrote: "The full glory of Barnard Castle cannot be assimilated until seen in its acutal setting. The design of its bridge is a conception in itself, and where in England would one find another with such unique features and beautiful proportions?" Another view of Barnard Castle b.