New Ted Holloway exhibition launches at Bishop Auckland Mining Art Gallery

15th October 2024

A new exhibition at the Mining Art Gallery brings together a selection of Ted Holloway’s paintings and drawings highlighting his journey from miner to art teacher to professional artist. 

Opening on Saturday 19^th October at the gallery in Bishop Auckland, the Ted Holloway: A Bevin Boy Remembered exhibition reveals the intense influence of mining on the works created throughout his artistic career.  

Some key works on show include Miners’ Head No 2 (1958), which used boot polish to create a depiction of a group of miners, Marras (1957), emphasising the close bond between two ‘marras’ - workmates who relied on each other underground and The Bevin Boys (1964), showing a group of apprehensive Bevin Boys entering the mines. 

Anne Sutherland, Mining Art & Industrial Heritage Curator at the Mining Art Gallery, said: “Ted Holloway’s deeply personal connection to the mines of County Durham means the artwork displayed in this exhibition is even more poignant and meaningful. This collection spans the course of Ted’s life and includes an array of works using different techniques and capturing true moments in the mines and in its surrounding community. 

“As visitors explore the exhibition, it encourages them to be reflective about the life young men led as Bevin Boys in war-time Britain, but also as miners growing up and the sacrifices they made.” 

Ted Holloway’s journey with mining art began eighty years ago, as he was conscripted to work in the coal mines in Craghead as a ‘Bevin Boy’, the name given to young men who were compulsorily conscripted to work underground mining coal for the war effort, by then Minister for Labour, Ernest Bevin.  

Returning post-war in 1954, Ted worked as a driver at the Busty Pit, where the desire to create mining art grew and he enrolled as a student at Sunderland College of Art and became an art teacher, ultimately retiring in 1981 to pursue painting full time.  

All experiences in the mines, particularly as a Bevin Boy, had profound influence over his artistic endeavours and Ted created a long series of drawings in the 1980s highlighting that chapter in his life. 

“The North East is synonymous with mining and at the Mining Art Gallery, it is our privilege to showcase one of the area’s outstanding mining artists, so future generations and visitors from other areas can learn about the culture and the difficulties faced, but also how creativity and spirit shines even in tough conditions,” added Anne. 

Auckland Palace, the Spanish Gallery, the Faith Museum, and the Mining Art Gallery are part of The Auckland Project, a regeneration charity transforming Bishop Auckland into a premier visitor destination through a unique collection of heritage attractions, galleries and gardens. 

The Auckland Project tells the remarkable story of Bishop Auckland, from the powerful Prince Bishops of Durham to the town’s surprising connection to the Golden Age of Spanish Art.   Tickets to Ted Holloway: A Bevin Boy Remembered exhibition are included in the admission for the Mining Art Gallery, which are £6 for adults and £3 for children.