Centenary of birth of Bishop Auckland artist marked by display

A retrospective exhibition marking the centenary of the birth of a miner-turned-artist has opened in his hometown.

Tom McGuinness: Out of the Darkness features oil paintings, sketches, lithographs and personal family portraits spanning more than half a century and will be on display until December at the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland.

Born in 1926, the artist was one of the Bevin Boys conscripted to work in coal mines during World War Two. He died in 2006.

Anne Sutherland, mining art and industrial heritage curator at The Auckland Project, said his art was a “powerful reminder” of miners’ resilience.