A new touring exhibition showcasing works from the Bowerman Collection, centered on the Newlyn School of painting, will launch at Champs Hill in Pulborough before traveling to six more venues across the UK over the next two years. Curated by Alison Bevan, former director of the Penlee House collection, the exhibition highlights the late David Bowerman's extensive collection of Newlyn School works, which capture the lives of a Cornish fishing community from the 1880s to the early 1900s.
The exhibition matters because it makes a major private collection of British art publicly accessible for the first time through a national tour, reaching underserved areas and small to medium-sized galleries that cannot afford to mount major exhibitions independently. By bringing these historically and socially significant paintings to a wider audience, the tour underscores the importance of regional art movements and the need for equitable access to cultural heritage across the UK.