Funding secured to buy bombardment painting

The authority has purchased “Untitled Promenade Painting (Bombardment for Theo Jones)” by Hartlepool-born artist Dr Narbi Price.

The artwork forms part of the Century Exhibition – of which Dr Price is the guest curator – which opened earlier this year at Hartlepool Art Gallery to celebrate 100 years of art, culture and history in Hartlepool and the centenary of the opening of the town’s former Gray Art Gallery and Museum.

Unfortunately, the exhibition and Hartlepool Art Gallery are currently closed to the public until further notice due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The painting is a contemporary reflection and viewpoint of where Private Theophilus Jones tragically lost his life on the morning of 16th December in the 1914 Bombardment of the Hartlepools by the German Navy.

It functions in part as a memorial to the tragic sacrifice of Pte Jones, a 29-year-old Private in the Durham Light Infantry who was believed to be the first soldier killed on British soil by enemy action in World War I.

The purchased painting by Dr Narbi Price

It has been purchased with funding from two different sources, with the Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund* covering 21% of the cost and the Art Fund Small Acquisition Grant providing the remaining 79%.

Dr Price said: "Having grown up in West View and having had some of my earliest formative artistic experiences in the Gray Art Gallery, it is a huge thrill to have one of my works enter Hartlepool Art Gallery's permanent collection. The painting was made for Hartlepool and I am delighted that it will be in the most appropriate place possible for future generations of potential artists to view, to reflect upon the tragic events of the bombardment, and to celebrate the first 100 years of Hartlepool’s art collection."

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, Chair of the Council’s Regeneration Services Committee and Culture Portfolio Holder, added: “We are delighted to have secured funding to enable us to add this significant piece of artwork by Dr Price to the town’s collection. ‘Untitled Promenade Painting (Bombardment for Theo Jones)’ is a monumental painting which commemorates one of the most important and poignant moments in our town’s history.

“The purchase of the painting demonstrates Hartlepool Art Gallery’s continuing commitment to acquiring original artworks for the town’s collection, as well as supporting artists and developing a culture in which visual art is appreciated.”

*For further information about the Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund go to www.nerysjohnson.com