Twelve foot tall, lean and elegant, ‘Pillar Man’, is one of the first people to welcome you to Jesmond Dene House. A towering column of bronze, by the Norwegian sculptor Nicolaus Widerberg, it’s one of dozens of pieces of art - sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs and etchings - scattered throughout the hotel. They are part of the collection of the University Gallery of Northumbria University which specialises in modern, international art with a strong emphasis on Norwegian and north-eastern artists. The gallery is renowned as Britain’s leading expert on Edvard Munch.
Wander through the hotel and you’ll find more of Widerberg’s elegant sculptures, dreamscape watercolours by his father, Frans Widerberg (considered Munch’s successor), atmospheric industrial scenes by Angela Hughes, evocative works by miner-turned-artist Norman Cornish (the north-east's most significant post-war artist) and breathtakingly beautiful - and intimate - photographs of the legendary Muhammad Ali by acclaimed photojournalist Bill Peronneau.
Unusually, the University Gallery is a public gallery with a commercial arm; virtually all these pieces of art are for sale.
For further information, plus availability and prices of any artist's work, please contact Mara-Helen Wood, Director, University Gallery, Northumbria University, +44 (0)191 227 4424, mara-helen.wood@unn.ac.uk.
Details shown:
Sitting Figure I (Bronze, granite) Nicolaus Widerberg
Nicolaus Widerberg at work
Sun by the Fjord, 2002 (Watercolour) Frans Widerberg
Sun about to Set behind the Fjord (Watercolour) Frans Widerberg
Atrium (Charcoal on paper) Simon Nicholas
Shower (Lithograph) Ørnulf Opdahl
Further Information