Cornwall's hidden art - discover the paintings you own

The lavishly-illustrated volume in full colour is being published on May 21 at a special launch at the Royal Cornwall Museum.

Galleries and civic buildings in the UK probably hold the greatest publicly owned collection of oil paintings in the world. However, an alarming four in five of these paintings are not on view and many wonder where they may be or what has happened to them.

The Public Catalogue Foundation has the answer, with its county-by-county series of catalogues: Oil Paintings in Public Ownership.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly house some outstanding collections. They are particularly strong in paintings by renowned artists drawn to this area by its seascape, landscape and quality of light. There are 1,575 paintings in 56 collections. These are brought together for the first time in one volume, and each painting is illustrated in colour.

Highlights in the catalogue are paintings in museums including the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro where there are 401 paintings, Helston Folk Museum, 19, Falmouth Art Gallery 164, the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, 51, University College, Falmouth, 50, Cornwall county council, 64 and the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, 75.

There are also two in Camborne Library, two more in the Cornish Studies Library, one at the Falmouth Fire Station, others at Pendennis Castle, Kerrier district council, Penryn town council which has 13, Redruth town council and the town museum which has nine between them, Truro city council which has 13 and Truro fire station which has one.

The Public Catalogue Foundation tries to make works accessible to the public and raises funds through the sale of the catalogues in the collections, for the conservation, restoration and exhibition of works that are rarely on display, as well as gallery education related to the catalogues.

Cornwall houses some outstanding collections. They are particularly strong in paintings by renowned artists drawn to this area by its seascape, landscape and quality of light, said spokesman for the publishers.

The Royal Cornwall Museum is perhaps one of the best known museums in the west country. Alfred De Pass (1861-1952), a businessman and discerning art collector, was the biggest single donor of paintings to the museum, and it is largely through his generosity that there is a much wider range of oils than might otherwise be expected.

Amongst the British works that he presented are: The Wedding Banquet by William Hogarth, and one of only three works relating to his unfinished series The Happy Marriage. The Pilgrimage to Canterbury by Thomas Stothard is believed to be a study for the work of the same title held in the Tate Gallery. The Run Home by Henry Scott Tuke is a very important example of this artist's work.

Early paintings include Study of Three Girls' Heads by the German artist Lucas Cranach (1472-1553), a study for The Judgement of Paris in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A most interesting portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller is of Anthony Payne, The Cornish Giant. Payne was 7ft 4ins tall. He was a yeoman of Stratton and a personal retainer to Sir Bevill Grenville, a leading Royalist. This painting was commissioned by Charles II in 1680, possibly as a gift to Sir Bevill's son.

Works by Cornish artists, especially the Newlyn and St Ives Schools, are important to the collections. Well represented are Henry Scott Tuke and Harold Harvey; and the Cornish artist John Opie whose painting A Gentleman and A Miner (Captain Morcom and Thomas Daniell) shows the Cornish mine owner Thomas Daniell with his mine captain, examining a piece of copper ore, one of the natural resources for which Cornwall is famous.

The collection includes Against Regatta Day by Stanhope Forbes and A Dream Princess by Elizabeth Forbes.

The Tuke Collection includes 87 oils which belong to the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society (RCPS), Falmouth. Most of the works were donated to the RCPS in 1965 by Brian D. Price, who first became interested in Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) in 1961 after finding a copy of his sister Maria's book A Memoir (Martin Secker, London 1933). Brian Price has always been available to help the Tuke committee with research questions and advice.

Henry Scott Tuke stands amongst the giants of late Victorian art. An early member of the Newlyn School, he was a British Impressionist and a key figure in the rich artistic heritage of Falmouth. His childhood here was to hold a nostalgia throughout his life: the sun, sea and sand of his boyhood was the inspiration for many of his best paintings.

Tuke studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and gained a scholarship of £50 for three years which allowed him to travel and to paint on the continent. In 1885 he returned to live in Falmouth renting rooms at overlooking the sea near Sunny Cove and Newforth Beach, which remained his base until his death. He often worked aboard his floating studio, the Julie of Nantes'.

Tuke first exhibited at the RCPS in 1867 at the age of 9 and was made Vice President of the Society in 1899. When he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1900, the RCPS was decorated with flags, bunting and daffodils and Wicks band from Truro played during the banquet held in his honour.' He was made a Royal Academician in 1914.

Tuke is now chiefly remembered for his portrayal of sunlight on both flesh and sea, but he was also an accomplished marine artist and portraitist. The range of his work in this collection is impressive. It includes Tuke's earliest recorded Royal Academy exhibited work The Good Samaritan and Our Jack, done on the Lilly', Tuke's quay punt, begun April 28th 1886 the first of many I painted of Jack Rowling' Jack is standing on the Lilly's port-side with the familiar backdrop of one of Falmouth's parish churches and rising terraces. Other favourites include Whale Blowing (1910) and Boy Asleep in a Sou'wester (c.1882).

Noonday Heat, a key work, was presented by the collector Jack Hone. Painted on Newporth Beach in summer 1902, it shows two of Tuke's Falmouth models, Georgie Fouracre and Bert White.

The core of the Falmouth Art Gallery collection is made up of gifts from Alfred de Pass. The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse, which takes its theme from Tennyson's poem, is probably the most popular and famous of his gifts. It is a study for the final version now at Leeds City Art Gallery, but many experts prefer the vitality of the Falmouth painting with its loose and expressive brushwork.

De Pass also gave pictures by Sir Frank Brangwyn, Sir John Arnesby Brown, Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Charles Napier Hemy, Thomas Luny, Arthur Melville, Sir Alfred Munnings, Thomas Martine Ronaldson, Henry Scott Tuke, George Frederick Watts and José Weiss.

The gallery has continued to grow in strength. In 2002 it was chosen to house the Richard Harris Gift' of works by Kenneth Newton. At the Royal Academy Schools, Newton was the outstanding student of his generation, where he was discovered' by Sir Gerald Kelly, PRA. Kelly, who had known Degas, Renoir, Monet, Rodin and Cézanne, was so impressed by Newton's work that he purchased the best quality paints, brushes and canvases for the student's use. These were used on Railings in the Snow, Guildford, 1961/62, which caused a sensation when it was shown at the Royal Academy. It is now one of the most popular pictures in Falmouth Art Gallery.

Another important gift was from the American abstract artist, Grace Gardner, who settled in Cornwall in 1984, and became a highly respected member of the Cornish artists' community. She has presented a number of her paintings, as well as works by her friends and colleagues.

Highlights of the gallery's purchases include: The Beggar Boy by John Opie; the 3rd Viscount Falmouth by George Romney; and Constructing South Pier, Mevagissey by Sir Frank Brangwyn.

Study of a Head 1933, a major work by Ben Nicholson, is a tender love portrait of Barbara Hepworth and Nicholson with their profiles entwined, painted at the beginning of their relationship, after their visit to France. The style is influenced by Picasso and Braque, whom they visited in Paris that year, and also by the Roman reliefs viewed during their trip to the ruins at Glanum near St-Rémy.

The small but interesting collection of maritime scenes at the National Maritime Museum ranges from Falmouth Docks in the Second World War to traditional portraits of 19th century packet ship captains. One of the most popular paintings is Sennen Crabbers by Alan J. Hook.

The museum also houses the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) Diploma Collection. Included are works by renowned maritime artists such as Charles Pears, Keith Shackleton and Harold Wyllie. With images of boats and ships, maritime industry, coastlines, people and historical events, this varied collection is a valuable resource for both researchers and lovers of maritime art.

Most works in the University College Falmouth collection have been purchased from summer degree shows and reflect the diversity and individuality that stems from this creative environment. The College has been fortunate to receive donated artwork from the families of internationally acclaimed artists including Untitled from the late Michael Finn (a former Principal of the College). Another recent bequest is that of the late John Lampard, a regular visitor to Cornwall and the College, who loved Cornish art. This bequest was used to purchase the diptych, Emma Le Cornu's Room 1 & 2, by John Robinson, a Fine Art graduate (2003). The collection is displayed throughout the College for the benefit of staff and students.

In 1961, Cornwall County Council received an anonymous donation of £100, made up of twenty £5 notes, with a short note saying simply To help Primary School Funds'.

The Council's Secretary for Education wrote to the artists John Piper, Peter Lanyon, Barbara Hepworth, and Jacob Epstein's recent widow, asking if they might be able to sell something at a reasonable price, or had any other suggestions. Hepworth was particularly enthusiastic and suggested a scheme of approaching a range of artists, asking each to supply a piece at minimal cost. Her suggestion to build a collection for use in schools gained significant support in the Council. An initial annual acquisition budget of £200 was agreed! Hepworth and Michael Finn, the Principal of Falmouth School of Art, were approached to act as the main advisors.

Works were bought annually until about 1970. Artists were offered a flat rate of £20 (later rising to £25) for their work. A few complained and a few refused, but the majority were happy to have their work used in such a good cause, particularly as it operated under the auspices of the widely respected Finn and Hepworth. Some artists even gave their work free of charge. Ben Nicholson and Alethea Garstin refused payment; and Hepworth donated her own Alfred Wallis painting of Penzance Harbour Entrance.

This is how the best public' collection of mid-20th century Cornish art in the county was developed. The later Newlyn School (Procter and Garstin), classic' St Ives modernist artists (Frost, Hilton, Nicholson, Wallis, Wells and Wynter) as well as teachers from Falmouth College of Art (Finn, Hewlett, Miskin and Organ) are all well represented with significant works. A few works were added to the Collection in the 1980s and 1990s, such as those by Anthony Frost and Rose Hilton. There have been recent generous gifts from leading Cornish based artists Kurt Jackson, Iain Robertson and Claire Wardman.

Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust is made up of Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance and St. Michael's Hospital, Hayle.

Staff have a real interest in the arts. A pleasant enviroment helps the process of healing, makes for happier patients and staff, shorter patient stays - and also saves the NHS money! Much of the permanent art collection has been donated and bequeathed by staff, patients and artists. There is also an interesting exhibition programme which aims to entertain, inspire and educate.

The Sunrise Centre at the Royal Cornwall Hospital houses an extensive collection of works by John Miller.

Paintings in the West Cornwall Hospital include, Flowers and Butterflies by Dorcie Sykes', views of West Penwith by David Wills, and a group of unusual lake paintings by Cyril Thorne.

St Michael's Hospital has a collection of work by prominent St Ives artists. There are paintings by the Cornish landscape and flower painter Edna Bridge and three works by Ken Symonds, including Penwith Landscape, which hangs in the Hospital reception. John Miller's contemplative Sunrise of Hope hangs in the Hospital Chapel, while Joan Gillchrest's Harbour Mouth, Newlyn is a more playful look at local life.

Newquay Hospital has a small but well-loved collection of paintings. These include Cornish landscapes by Ivy Pearce, two of which show views of the Paintings at the Helston Folk Museum include important local characters such as Henry Trengrouse, inventor of the life-saving apparatus; Davies Gilbert, the local MP who presented the Grylls Act' to Parliament which led to drowned seamen receiving proper burials; and William Bickford-Smith, inventor of the safety fuse.