The Pitmen Painters

Coming Next to Dramaworks... The Pitmen Painters
the years there were more exhibitions,
including London in 1973 and China
in 1980.The Ashington Group was
disbanded in 1984, and the last founding
member, Oliver Kilbourn - the emotional
center of Hall's funny, touching play died in 1993.
By Sheryl Flatow
The playwright Lee Hall believes
absolutely in the transformative power of
art "I have a rather Utopian vision of what
art can be," he says. "It's almost a metaphor
for what you can achieve in society."
That's apparent in Billy Elliot, in which
ballet provides a young boy with the
opportunity to leave his dying coal mining
village and create a life full of possibilities.
And it's apparent in The Pitmen Painters,
in which coal miners take up painting
and make a significant contribution to
British art, challenging assumptions in
the process.
Unlike the fictional Billy Elliot, the story of
the Pitmen Painters is true. Hall's play is
inspired by William Feaver's book Pitmen
Painters: The Ashington Group 1934- 1984,
which chronicles the remarkable journey
of these unlikely artists from the provincial
village of Ashington, in the North East
region of England.
"War at Sea" by Harry Wilson, 1943
Walpamur household gloss on fibreboard
That the miners were given the
opportunity to explore a world beyond
the pits was made possible by the Workers'
Educational Association, a charitable
organization established in the UK in 1903
that continues to this day. Its mission is
to provide access to adult education to
anyone and everyone, particularly to the
underclass and the socially disadvantaged,
people whose formal schooling was
perhaps limited. Classes are offered in
local communities, and the setting might
be anything from the workplace to a
school to a pub.
Pitmen in the 1930s typically began
working when they were about 11 years
old, which put an end to their schooling.
Ashington, at the time, was isolated - the
nearest city, Newcastle, is about 12 miles
away - and didn't even have a library, let
alone works of art. But many of the miners
were hungry for knowledge. In October,
1934, after five years spent studying
evolution, a group of more than 30 miners
shifted focus and signed up for a weekly
art appreciation class.
The painter and educator Robert Lyon
was assigned to teach the course, and
he began with a lecture and slide show
on the Old Masters. But after a couple of
lessons, Lyon realized that his students
weren't interested in what he had to say.
Seeking a way to get through to them,
he brought art supplies to class and told
them to paint. They had no knowledge
of technique, but Lyon didn't care. He
wanted them to express themselves,
in the hope that they would begin to
understand why artists create art.
So they started to paint. They worked
at home, then brought their paintings
into class for the others to critique. They
painted the world they knew, and as the
weeks went by, Lyon recognized that
the paintings had an intrinsic beauty.
He began writing about the class, and
introduced his students to the art patron
Helen Sutherland. She sponsored a trip
to London, where the men visited the
National Gallery and theTate Gallery. In
1936, Lyon organized the first exhibition
of the Ashington Group, as they now
called themselves, at Armstrong College
in Newcastle.
Their fame quickly grew. They were
profiled in publications and interviewed
on radio. Critics and the intelligentsia
weighed in: some viewed their work as
splendid examples of folk art, others were
patronizing.Through it all, the Ashington
Group continued to paint simply because
they loved what they did. No one left to
pursue a professional career; all kept their
jobs in the pits. When Lyon left in 1942 to
become principal of Edinburgh College
of Art, the Group went on without him,
acquiring a hut in which to work. Over
In telling of the story of the Pitmen
Painters, Hall raises all sorts of questions
about art and class, much as he did in
Billy Elliot. Like the protagonists of both
pieces, Hall is from the industrial North
East, and his life was changed through
art. Class division has played a central
role in his life. He knew from an early age
that he wanted to be a writer but, like
Billy, faced resistance and opprobrium
from his family and his community. He
got into Cambridge, but his entry into
this new world left him in a kind of limbo,
an experience not unlike that of Oliver in
The Pitmen Painters. "I was so happy in a
world of ideas and art," he says. "I felt as if
I'd come home. Yet I never quite felt like
I fit in, because I'd come from this very
different place and always felt slightly out
of sorts."
But he learned that he could use his
background to inform his work. "I started
to think that maybe there were aspects of
the culture I came from that had enriched
my journey," he says. "So with both Billy
Elliot and The Pitmen Painters, I used
the folk culture of the North East to talk
about high art and social issues."
(Continued on page 3)
"Trotting" by Oliver Kilbourn, c1975
Acrylic on paper
"Whippets" by George Blessed, 1939
Oil on cotton on hardboard
Christine Schloemer, Crew Chief
Alicia Scott, Wardrobe Mistress
Matt Kelly, Carpenter
Jake Molzan, Carpenter
Michelle Rene Storey, Production Assistant
Leslie Mandell, Development Associate
Paul Reekie, Webmaster
Caroline von Feilitzsch, Graphic Design
Press Agent:
Peter Cromarty, Cromarty & Co.
"The Dunting Stone" by Len Robinson, C1945
Oil on fibreboard
Pitmen
"The Onsetter" by Jimmy Floyd, 1942
Oil on plywood
Box Office Administrators:
Sofia Crowell
Lauren Doeblin
Samantha Mighdoll
House Manager & Volunteer Coordinator:
Theda Reale
(Continued from page 2)
Hall's play ends in 1948, with the mines
on the verge of nationalization and high
expectations for socialism.The miners
envision a University of Ashington, and a
world in which art, culture and education
are available to all classes. It's an upbeat
ending - except that it isn't, because
it's informed by all subsequent history.
Britain did not evolve in the way the
pitmen imagined. Hall has said that the
play was written "more out of despair than
hope."
Happily, the work of the Pitmen Painters
lives on. Although most of their early
paintings have long since disappeared,
at some point they began collecting their
best work to form a permanent collection.
Most of the 86 paintings that make up the
collection are on permanent display at the
Woodhorn Colliery Museum in Ashington
- the site of a former pit.
Honorary Board Members
Michael Burrows
Herbert Hoffman
Rebel Cook
J. Barry Lewis
Ralph Guild
Sherron Long
Julia Hansen
Robert Nederlander
Tim Harris
561.514.4042
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