Tullie Museum to Showcase Winifred Nicholson’s Cumbrian Rag Rugs

Tullie Museum to Showcase Winifred Nicholson's Cumbrian Rag Rugs

Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs is a new exhibition opening at Tullie on Saturday, 5 April. The exhibition celebrates Nicholson’s relationship with Cumberland and the tradition of rag rug making in the north of England and presents many rare, beautiful and fragile examples of rugs made in Cumberland, the majority of which are held in private collections and have not been seen in public until now.

Comprising rag rugs, paintings, and archival material, the exhibition showcases another side of Nicholson’s artistic practice as a painter, highlighting the interplay between art and craft and the place for both in domestic life.

It features almost 40 artworks, with the earliest pieces on display dating from the 1920s. A selection of archive material – including newspaper cuttings, postcards and preparatory sketches – presents Nicholson’s sources of inspiration as well as an insight into the rag rug-making process.

While the exhibition celebrates Nicholson’s reputation as one of the best-loved British artists of the 20th century, it also pays homage to the local Cumbrian makers whom Nicholson worked with to produce the rugs, many of whom have been traced by art historians and the artist’s grandson, Jovan Nicholson and are named in the exhibition.

One of Winifred's oil paintingsWinifred Nicholson, Janet and Jacob Reading, c.1930 (installation view), oil on board. Private Collection on long term loan.

Nicholson’s family lived in Cumberland, as it was then known, and in 1923, she purchased Banks Head, a farmhouse on Hadrian’s Wall, where she first encountered the rag rug-making tradition through her neighbour, Margaret Warwick.

Rag rugs, also known as hooky rugs or proggy mats, were hardwearing rugs popular in northern England’s mining villages and rural cottages in the early 20th century. The rugs were made from strips of second-hand clothing and textiles, which were occasionally dyed bright colours. These strips were pushed or pulled through a hessian backing using a tool called a ‘proddy’ to create the rug.

A 1968 rug showing the Cumbrian landscapeCumbrian Landscape 1968. Designed by Jovan Nicholson and made by Florence Williams.

The exhibition presents 28 rugs designed by Nicholson, her family, and friends, which were crafted by women from the rural farming community near Hadrian’s Wall in Cumberland. Many of these have never previously been shown in public, and this exhibition shines a light on this often-forgotten practice and art form.

Nicholson’s creative collaboration with neighbouring women formed part of a revival of the traditional craft in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Animal Squares RugAnimal Squares 1960s Winifred Nicholson, Florence Williams.

One of the earliest rag rugs in the exhibition, Animal Squares (c.1926), was designed by Ben Nicholson, who commissioned a local maker, Mary Bewick, to make the piece. It comprises 15 squares with a thick border, some of which depict various farm animals. Winifred Nicholson later designed another rug entitled Animal Squares.

Another rug, The Sun and the Moon (1960s) was designed by Nicholson herself and took pride of place in her home, in front of the fireplace at Bankshead, for many years.

Four Storks (c. 1983) was designed by Li Yuan-chia of the LYC Museum & Art Gallery at the converted Bankside Farmhouse in the village of Banks, Cumbria. LYC staged exhibitions and hosted poetry recitals and craft workshops, and Four Storks was made by a group of women who met at the LYC on Friday evenings to make the piece.

Visitors can also immerse themselves in around 40 of her artworks from the 1920s to 1970s, among which is a portrait of her neighbours: The Warwick Family (1925-1926) depicting Margaret Warwick and her husband Tom with their daughter Janet and grandson Norman. The work is one of the few group portraits that Nicholson painted and shows the closeness of her connection with the family.

An oil painting of Birch Crag in the summerBen Nicholson, Birch Craig, Summer c.1930 (left), oil on canvas. Private Collection on loan to the Middlesbrough Collection at MIMA.

The exhibition has been co-curated with art historian Jovan Nicholson, grandson of Winifred Nicholson, and Helen Welford, Exhibitions and Collection Curator, MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs is a touring exhibition organised by MIMA, part of Teesside University. It also follows the publication of the new book Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs by Jovan Nicholson, Paul Holberton Publishing.

Mary Berwick's Galloway Bull rugGalloway Bull 1960s by Mary Bewick.

Jovan Nicholson commented, “One of the problems with rag rugs is that by their very nature of being placed on a floor and hard use, very few survive. It is exciting to have found so many rugs with lively images, many of them in excellent condition. They are an eclectic group, from the traditional subject matter of farmer’s wives of sheep, cattle and cats to the naïve images based on drawings by Winifred Nicholson’s grandchildren to the rugs designed by Winifred Nicholson with her practised artist’s eye.”

Tullie’s Exhibitions Manager Sarah McGlynn added, “Tullie is delighted to be hosting this exhibition. Winifred Nicholson is such an important artist both nationally and internationally, and it is a huge honour to bring her work back to her home county, Cumbria”

More information on Tullie exhibitions and facilities can be found at https://tullie.org.uk/.

Lead image: Florence Williams, Jonah and the Whale, April 1969 (detail), Rag Rug, textile. Private Collection. Winifred Nicholson Cumbrian Rag Rugs.

Tullie Museum to Showcase Winifred Nicholson's Cumbrian Rag Rugs 2

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