Art history in Jarrow: the nuclear bunker turned gallery that showcased Picasso and more

The former atomic air raid shelter was transformed into the Bede Gallery thanks to the inspiration of town artist Vince Rea.

He brought works by Picasso to Jarrow

Vince died two years ago aged 87 but he was the man who founded the gallery and brought works by Picasso to it.

The Jarrow venue became a focal point for artists throughout the region and beyond.

It housed several successful exhibitions, including works by Picasso – for which a security guard was posted at the door – and a travelling photographic display from Linda McCartney.

Palmer’s Yard and the Jarrow March

But just as importantly, it was a historical resource centre, collecting evidence from 200 years of the town’s mining and shipbuilding past – especially Palmer’s Yard and the Jarrow March.

From 2015, Vince lived in the Palmersdene care home in Jarrow where he was ‘loved by all’, and where he was part of an arts group at the home.

But back to those early days when Vince, along with his wife Willa, created the Bede Gallery from a nuclear bunker in Springwell Park in 1967.

US pop art was on show

The gallery in Butcher’s Bridge Road in Jarrow, officially opened in 1970.

By 1972, the gallery had developed an enviable reputation in the arts world. That was the year the gallery hosted an exhibition of ground-breaking American pop art.

Vince ran the Bede Gallery for 28 years before it closed in 1996.

In its lifetime, it had showed a range of exhibitions and art works from artists including Henri Matisse, Sir Sidney Nolan, Hockney, Degas and Don McKinley.