Bryan PEARCE
Pearce achieved a great following and success as an artist in spite of being brain damaged by phenylketonuria. His career as an artist was directed and supported through the skillful care and acumen of his mother, Mary PEARCE, also a painter, and a good friend of many artists.
He was born in St Ives, and lived out his life there, painting "all the places in St Ives, the harbour, the church, Market Place" his favoured subjects being seascapes and landscapes, though he also liked flower painting. His intense interest in patterns and designs often found Pearce standing in the Penwith Gallery staring at a blouse or pair of patterned trousers, lost in the world of imprinting those 'pictures' for future use.
His remarkable story is told warmly in several biographical works listed below, beginning with the earliest by Ruth Jones, through to the most recent revision (2008) of Marion Whybrow's Bryan Pearce - A Private View, first published in 1985. His many friends, carers, and admirers who surrounded and supported him in life contributed greatly to the publications about his work.
media
Painting in oils
works and access
Likenesses of the artist: portrait by Ken SYMONDS (repr in Hardie (1995); by Misome PEILE
Penlee House, Penzance: Penzance Harbour (all round);
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro: A large collection of his work is in the Fine Art Collection of the Museum, 26 oil paintings of which, are illustrated in PCF (2007).
exhibitions
Solo: NAG (1959)
NAG Art share 1988, A Century of Art in Cornwall 1889-1989; many mixed shows in St Ives and at NAG
1986: RCM & RIC Three Spires Festival Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture and Pottery, Truro (Opening of the RCM or County Art Gallery, by the Royal Institution of Cornwall)
Royal Cornwall Museum 2000-1, Retrospective 2005
Beaux Arts, Bath 2004; Archeus: Retrospective 2005
Penlee House, Penzance 2011: 'Different Ways of Seeing: Pearce, Gillchrest and Yates' 17 Sept-12 Nov
2012: 'Soaring Spirits', Falmouth Art Gallery 23 June - 8 Sept
2019: Belgrave Gallery, St Ives (8-25 Mar)
2024: Truro School Art Collection, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro (30 Jan-18 May)
memberships
Penwith Society of Artists 1957ff; NSA 1959-95
NSA 1972-3 list
references
J Axten with others (2000) Bryan Pearce: the Artist and His Work; (2004) Bryan Pearce & his artist friends
Buckman (2006) Artists in Britain since 1945
Exh Cat: 20 Years of Contemporary Art at Falmouth Art Gallery 1980-2000
Hardie (1995) 100 Years in Newlyn/Diary (Col portrait by K Symonds);
Hoyle, H (Jan 2013 Women Artists in Cornwall www.cornishmuse.blogspot.com) Barbara Tribe - A Sculptor's Life
Jones, Ruth (1976) The Path of the Son
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro (2007) Bryan Pearce: Last Paintings and Other Works
McLeod, Alister J (1973) Newlyn Society of Artists 1895-1973 (NAG 12 page brochure)
Public Catalogue Foundation (2007) Cornwall & Isles of Scilly: Oil Paintings in Public Ownership (illus)
RCM (2008) The Bryan Pearce Bequest
C J Stevens (2004) The Miracle of Bryan Pearce
Tate (1985) St Ives 1939-64: 25 Years of Painting, Sculpture & Pottery (biog notes p138 with photo 1974); (2007) St Ives All Round: The Paintings of Bryan Pearce;
Whybrow (1985 First, 2008 Revised 2nd) Bryan Pearce, A Private View; (1994) Studio Artists in their Workplace St Ives (artist's statement and photo); (1999) The Innocent Eye: Primitive & Naive Painters in Cornwall
Whybrow (2013) St Ives: The Story of Porthmeor Studios;