Tyne & Tide: John Peace - selected North East paintings 

A major exhibition of the art works of the late John Peace.

Peace studied at the South Shields School of Art from 1949-51, then at Leeds before gaining a place at the Slade School of Fine Art in London.  He had a lifelong career in painting, as well as teaching art, and produced hundreds of paintings, many of which captured the landscape and aspects of social life in the changing region around him.  It was a career deeply influenced and shaped by his time in South Shields. 

This exhibition, the first since Peace died in 2017, brings together a significant selection of some of his finest work.  It focuses on landscapes, many depicting the region’s coast and rivers, as well as the area around Lemington, where he spent most of his life, and includes paintings of South Tyneside and Sunderland.  Landscape was Peace’s main interest, but he also produced many paintings of other subjects and a section of the gallery will present examples of his portraits, still lifes and scenes of family life. 

Above all Peace was interested in capturing the effects of light. His compositions were often simple and painted with a narrow range of colours to create a powerful, striking view of the world around him.  Tyne & Tide provides a unique opportunity to see many of his best paintings, including those owned by the artist’s family, alongside a number of loans from private collectors. 

More information on John Peace and images of his paintings can be found at: www.johnpeacepaintings.co.uk