Famous Downing Street Corridor showcases Collection of Newcastle Artworks

Nine artworks from the Laing Art Gallery collection in Newcastle have gone on display in 10 Downing Street’s corridor leading from the famous black door through to the Cabinet Room.

The display will showcase the talent of artists from the North East to world leaders and industry bosses as well as high-profile guests, philanthropists, front-line workers, and charitable and civic leaders attending events in the building. 

The artworks will remain in the corridor for a year, as part of the Government Art Collection’s ‘Number 10 Museum in Residence’ project. 

For the past twenty years, the Government Art Collection has instigated an annual partnership with a museum or gallery across the UK to display artworks from their collection. Previous galleries include the Glynn Vivian in Swansea, The Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester and The New Art Gallery in Walsall.

The nine chosen works from the Laing Art Gallery, situated in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, are representative of the city and the wider North East of England. Five of the paintings showcase Newcastle’s cityscape, while the others point to the diverse art scene of the North East. All of the works are by influential artists from the area, who taught at its art schools, or who have been inspired by its landmarks and landscapes.

Paintings in the display include a large oil painting by Edward Dickey, depicting the iconic Tyne Bridge mid-construction, and Caravans, Figures and Helter Skelter, a work from 1930 by Byron Dawson that shows a scene from the long-running travelling fair The Hoppings, which sets up on the Town Moor annually. There are also several mid-20th-century works by figures associated with the region’s progressive art schools such as graduates of King’s College (now Newcastle University).