Cart Gallery

Market Jew Street, Penzance, Cornwall. 1920s

View up Market Jew Street towards the Market House with the statue of Sir Humphrey Davy in front. Sir Humphrey Davy was born in Penzance in 1778 and became President of the Royal Society. Glass lantern slide from a lecture, entitled Some Historic Cornish Beauty Spots, given by Cornishman and amateur photographer, Major Arthur William Gill, in around 1925. He was well known in Cornwall and elsewhere during the 1920s and 1930s for his presentations of stills and cine film to many groups including The Royal Institution of Cornwall, Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society and the London Cornish Society. The quarter plate slides which he took prolifically with his ordinary camera are, in many cases, colour. These were painted by his own hand to great effect

© From the collection of the RIC

Study for the carter in The Lighting Up Time, Stanhope Forbes (1857-1947)

Oil on canvas, Newlyn School, late 19th century. The Lighting Up Time was completed in 1902 and there are several studies for different elements of the painting in existence. This portrait of a young man holding a lighted lantern, standing by his horse and cart, is one of the studies. The final version is now in a private collection. Born in Dublin, Stanhope Forbes is regarded as the founder and leader of the Newlyn School. He attended Lambeth School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools before studying at Bonnat's studio in Paris in 1881. He settled in Newlyn in 1884 and stayed for the rest of his life. Together with his wife Elizabeth, he taught many of the next generation of artists at their school of painting. Norman Garstin, in an article on Stanhope Forbes, wrote that no one has done so much to hold the little community of Newlyn together as Mr Stanhope Forbes

© RIC

River Street, Truro, Cornwall. Around 1905

View down River Street showing the Truro Savings Bank and Baptist Chapel, later to become the Royal Cornwall Museum. The architect of both buildings was Philip Sambell (1798-1874). The Savings Bank was built in 1847 and closed in 1894. The building then became Henderson's School of Mining in 1897. The School of Mining closed in 1907 and the Royal Institution of Cornwall purchased the building in 1908 to house their growing collections. The interior of the building underwent extensive alterations, including the demolition of the rear part to build the main gallery and a west wing was added. Truro Baptist Chapel was built in 1850. The chapel was purchased by the RIC in 1985 as an extension to the museum. Extensive refurbishment and additions followed, including the link between the two buildings. An upper floor was added to the Baptist Chapel creating the Treffry gallery. Photographer: Arthur Philp

© From the collection of the RIC