See Bolton through Roger Hampson’s eyes

November 10, 2010

A new art exhibition featuring the people and places of Bolton begins on Saturday (November 20).

A selection of works by local artist Roger Hampson will be on display at Bolton Museum, Aquarium and Archive.

A selection of paintings capturing the bleakness of the northern urban landscape as well as the warmth and humour of its people will be on show.

Early mono-prints and linocuts which established the artist’s reputation as a graphic artist can also be seen.

Hampson was born in Tyldesley, Wigan, but spent much of his life in Bolton. Throughout his career, Hampson was inspired to paint the people he met on the streets of these northern towns.

Landmarks featured include Gilnow Mill, Regent Street and Minerva Street. Subjects included in the works are children playing street football, and a portrait of an elderly lady, Bessie, going about her daily duties.

As one of a group of young painters of Lancashire realism, established by artists such as LS Lowry, his work is represented in several public collections and was widely collected, notably by Lord Rhodes, LS Lowry and Princess Margaret.

The exhibition is sponsored by Capes Dunn & Co Auctioneers, Manchester.  Entrance to the exhibition is free and it runs until Saturday, January 22.

Visitors can combine a visit to the exhibition with a visit to the new Bolton Lives Gallery. The gallery is a permanent addition to the museum, split into three zones.

Zone one looks at the story of Samuel Crompton and the impact of the spinning mule. The second zone shows how the landscape of Bolton has changed during the centuries following the industrial revolution. The final zone focuses on the lives of people who lived in the town.

ENDS

ISSUED BY GEORGE WRIGHT, MEDIA TEAM, BOLTON COUNCIL, TEL 01204 331023

Notes to Editors

Hampson studied at Manchester College of Art for five years and then went on to get his teacher’s diploma.  He took a job as an art teacher at Bolton Secondary Technical College in 1951 and then became a graphic designer with a succession of Manchester firms.

Hampson painted what he knew – real people in real places doing everyday things.  He was motivated to paint a landscape and way of life that he knew was fast disappearing. A busy factory scene, a quiet landscape, men on their way for a day’s work at the mine, old people with wrinkly faces, and women in head scarves and rollers.

George Wright
Media Officer
Bolton Council

01204 331023
george.wright@bolton.gov.uk
Communications and Marketing Agency,
Second floor, The Wellsprings,
Bolton, BL1 1US.

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