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Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5am

Castlegate House Gallery

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Castlegate House Gallery exhibits the best of 20th Century and Contemporary British art and studio ceramics, all within a stunning Georgian House setting

10/10/2026

Some photos of our current gallery hang. Works on show include those by:

Frank Auerbach
Sheila Fell (RA)
Norman Cornish
Colin Frooms
Michael Bennett
Alan Davie (RA)
Tessa Newcombe
Robert Sadler
Hughie O’Donoghue (RA)
Ben Nicholson
Bill Bell
Alice Campbell
Terry Frost (RA)
Keith Vaughan
Elizabeth Blackadder (RA), and
Craig Simpson

03/10/2026

Acquired yesterday from a private collection, this quite lovely Percy Kelly charcoal is now listed online, albeit off this coming week for appropriate reframing.

Farm on the hill likely dates to the mid 1960s and was originally acquired from Castlegate House approx. 25 years ago as part of the release of works from the Kelly estate.

For me, Percy was at his best with this era of charcoal drawings; there’s a strength of line and enhanced perspective that sets him apart. Of good size also, at 47 x 73 cm (plus framing).

https://www.castlegatehouse.co.uk/paintings-for-sale/percy-kelly/farm-on-the-hill-c-1965/

27/09/2026

Final day of the British Art Fair today at the Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea, open 11-5; a few close-up images of some of the works we have exhibited.

25/09/2026

A rather good photo taken yesterday of our fabulous 1972 painting by Alasdair Gray; New Room.

Either it was a slow shutter speed or that chap is walking incredibly quickly!!

Photo courtesy of Ricardo Vigil Moran.

24/09/2026

And we’re off !!! The British Art Fair is now open, today until 9pm and then through to Sunday. You’ll find us on the ground floor, stand no. 10.

20/09/2026

Well that didn’t even have time to make it online nor in-gallery before being acquired. Red boat, Maryport by the late Percy Kelly dates to 1967 and was originally sold through Castlegate House some 25-30 years ago. Soon off for its next chapter, after some framing improvements.

15/09/2026

Another painting to be revealed at our stand next week at The British Art fair is this important portrait of Emma Gillies by her brother, the late Sir William George Gillies.

Mistakenly thought to have been painted in 1922 and exhibited in the 1922 Group exhibition of the following year, it actually dates to 1932/33 and was shown, alongside a portrait of Gillies’s other sister, Janet, as part of his ‘wall’ at the Society of Eight’s exhibition of 1934. It is believed to have been acquired around that time by Mary (Molly) Dickins, née Grierson and a photograph of the work in the William Gillies Archive at the Royal Scottish Academy is annotated in Janet’s handwriting ‘Original sold to Miss Grierson (Mrs Dickson) [sic] Leeds’. Mrs Dickins moved from Edinburgh to Leeds with her husband, Professor Bruce Dickins, in 1931.

Provenance:
Professor Bruce and Mrs Molly Dickins
Aitken Dott & Son, Edinburgh, no.4811
The Fine Art Society Ltd., Edinburgh, no.9823
Private Collection, Switzerland

14/09/2026

This most wonderful contemporary portrait by Stefan Orlowski will be revealed in the flesh at the British Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery next week.

Light behind the eyes is a deeply personal and exceptional painting, a portrait of Stefan’s father, who is blind. He is enjoying the accoutrements of his youth; namely an old 1970s Norwegian jumper and his old pipe. In Stefan’s words, “a portrait of stoic acceptance, resilience and his past”.

A contemporary portrait with direct lineage to a past era. The pose, the clasped hands, all reminiscent of Italian and Northern European depictions of nobility of the time, albeit not usually sporting a Norwegian jumper. On that exact matter, what a jumper, you can sense the texture, you know exactly how it feels. A fabulous painting.

13/09/2026

Another British Art Fair sneak preview, making its Castlegate House debut in just over a week’s time is Snowscape, 1961 by the late Sheila Fell RA.

Originally exhibited at Sheila’s Derwent Centre, Cockermouth exhibition of 1961, thence Beaux Arts, London in 1962, its first owner being Sheila’s original art teacher at Tomlinson Girls Grammar School, Catherine Campbell-Taylor. A wonderful small oil painting by arguably the greatest British landscape painter of her age.

12/09/2026

Over the next couple of days we’ll preview some of the new work we’ll be exhibiting at the British Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery the week after next, work which is not yet listed online.

Shown here are five paintings by John Lessore, spanning several decades. Now John, who is 87 years old, is a wonderful artist in his own right and indeed taught for many years at the Royal Academy Schools, he is also part of a hugely important artistic dynasty.

John’s mother was the gallerist Helen Lessore, under who’s direction Beaux Arts, London became arguably the most influential art gallery of the post-war decades, launching the careers of the likes of Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Michael Andrews and Sheila Fell. Elsewhere in the family tree we have the famous Walter Sickert, a hugely influential artist of the earlier twentieth century. Both Auerbach and Kossoff became family friends, in fact the third image here is a portrait of Leon Kossoff from 1982.

All five paintings come directly from John Lessore’s London studio, and all will be on show with us at the Saatchi.

Address

Castlegate House
Cockermouth
CA139HA

Opening Hours

Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5am

Telephone

+441900822149

Website

http://www.castlegatehouse.co.uk/

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