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Norwich Castle: John Crome
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The Poringland Oak, c. 1818-20, by John Crome, oil on canvas, Photo © Tate
A Passion for Landscape: Rediscovering John Crome
The exhibition A Passion for Landscape: Rediscovering John Crome celebrates the work of one of Britain’s great Romantic artists, on the bicentenary of his death in 1821. Already open at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, it runs until September 5th.
John Crome (1768-1821) grew up in Norwich. The son of a journeyman weaver, he received no formal artistic training, learning to paint and mix colours through an apprenticeship as a coach and sign painter. As an artist and teacher, he was held in great esteem, and his reputation soon stretched beyond the confines of East Anglia. He exhibited at London’s Royal Academy and the British Institution and founded the first art society in Britain outside the capital, the Norwich School of Artists, which later became internationally known as the Norwich School of Painting. his letters still exist. There has been little research and no new monographs published for some 50 years. Prior to the exhibition in 1968, held at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, the last exhibition of any note was at Norwich Gallery in 1921.
This new exhibition features approximately 90 works including paintings, watercolours and etchings, all of which demonstrate Crome’s proficiency and skill in varied media. Alongside Norwich Castle’s own pre-eminent collection of works by John Crome, the exhibition will present loans from private and public collections, including from Tate, the V&A, Fitzwilliam Museum and Manchester City Galleries. These are presented in six distinctive categories: Early Days, Pupils and Patrons, City Life, Quiet Corners, Coast and Light and Air, and seek to show all aspects of his work and inspiration.