Lords, legends, dignitaries and dogs were all subjects captured by the brush and palette of H.H. Emmerson, a father figure among North East artists.
Like many of his fellow artists, he drew on the local inhabitants of Cullercoats for inspiration, spending most of his life in John Street when not staying in Rothbury where he enjoyed the generous patronage of Lord Armstrong.
His talents were not confined to the easel, being a member of the Volunteer Life Brigade and local football and cricket clubs.
The speaker, Jean Scott, is Chairman of the Friends of the Laing Art Gallery and Co-ordinator for Volunteer Guides.
Although a regular visitor, her last talk at the Old Low Light, in 2020, was about Henry Perlee Parker (1785-1873), who spent most of his working life in Newcastle and became one of the region’s best-known artists.
Photograph: A Foreign Invasion by H. H. Emmerson (c1871). Courtesy of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums.