Suthers painting ‘comes home’

WELCOME HOME . . . The Broken Pot, by Leghe Suthers.

AN art expert turned detective has reunited a famous son with his home town.

Gallery Oldham has been given its most significant Victorian painting in many years: The Broken Pot by Leghe Suthers.

John Lees Suthers was born in Chadderton in April 1855 and was known as Leghe, the old spelling of Lees.

A member of the well-known Lees family of Oldham, his cousin was textile magnate Charles Lees who bequeathed the borough its founding collection of paintings.

Suthers settled in Newlyn in Cornwall and joined a colony of artists there in the 1880s, regularly sending paintings to the Royal Academy and other exhibitions. He died in April, 1924.

George Bednar from London, an expert on Newlyn paintings, traced the origins of Leghe Suthers back to Oldham.

He felt the gallery should have an example of his work and generously bought The Broken Pot and donated it to the borough.

Mr Bednar explained: “I became certain of the link between John Lees Suthers and Leghe Suthers in early 1999, while researching ‘Every Corner was a Picture’, my compilation of the artists of the Newlyn Art Colony 1880-1900.

“When I was told that Suthers was not represented at Gallery Oldham, I was determined to fill that gap.

“A bednarz is a cooper in Polish, the nationality of my parents. I wanted to donate ‘The Broken Pot’ because it includes a barrel, a further link between my name and the picture.”

Gallery Oldham already has a collection of paintings by the Newlyn School. This includes ‘The Drinking Place’, by Stanhope Forbes, which is going on loan to the Van Gogh Museum later this year, as well as paintings by Walter Langley, Harold Harvey and Laura Knight.

Councillor Kay Knox, cabinet member for leisure, culture, heritage and tourism services, said: “I would like to thank Mr Bednar for his kind and generous donation.

“The artwork was painted by one of our own famous sons and it is great to be able to display it in the borough where he came from.

“It is an outstanding painting and I hope residents will visit Gallery Oldham so they can see it for themselves.”