‘This is something you don’t expect to see here’: World-famous painting on display in empty Jarrow shop

A world-famous painting is on display in an empty shop in Jarrow’s Viking Centre, a rare opportunity for the people of South Tyneside to view one of Britain’s most prominent artists.

The Cornfield by John Constable was painted in 1826, capturing the rural Suffolk countryside on a summer’s day. Despite being 300 miles south from Jarrow the scene is a familiar one. Before the coal mines and shipbuilding, South Tyneside would have looked the same.

On loan from the National Gallery, Constable’s work will be on display in the empty Bright House unit within the shopping centre from Tuesday 20- Sunday 25 June, free of charge for any art lover or curious wanderer.

Keith Merrin, director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “It’s quite rare we do something like this, putting a famous painting in the middle of a shopping centre, but it’s a brilliant opportunity for the people in south Tyneside. This is something you don’t expect to see here.”

“It’s an incredibly detailed painting. John Constable is one of the nation’s most famous painters. I know he’s probably not a household name to everyone but at the start of the 19th century he was a very prominent artist in this country and his paintings are still on show because they’re so beautiful.”

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As well as being open to the public, throughout the week schools have been invited to take part in sensory workshops to make the visit more immersive with soundscapes, textural play and poetry on offer.

“We’re really excited to be bringing loads of schools in. We’ve already been working in schools for the past few weeks, showing some of our paintings from South Shields museums that show similar scenes to get them trying to think about poetry and sensory thoughts: what does it smell like, what does it feel like, what does it feel like to be in that kind of scene,” adds Keith

The most important thing is that they take inspiration from it or something in their life which helps them at school or at home or just have a nice day. That’s what art is for- to make our lives more fun and interesting.”

You can view the painting: Tues–Fri: 9–9.45am and 12–6pm, Sat: 10am–6pm and Sun: 10am–4pm.