Mary Newcomb: Thinking and Working

Mary Newcomb (1922-2008) was a visionary self-taught artist who settled in rural East Anglia. Her life and art were rooted in everyday observation and the natural world. Her unique visual language and poetic vision closely aligned with her writing. Newcomb’s first solo show was held at Crane Kalman Gallery in 1970 and the gallery has regularly held exhibitions of her work since. In 2009 Mary Newcomb’s Odd Universe, A Memorial Exhibition, was held at Norwich Castle, and in 2021 Compton Verney in Warwickshire held Nature’s Canvas, a large retrospective. In May 2026 there will be an exhibition in The Noverre Cabinets at The Assembly House.

For this free event supported by The Assembly House Trust, there will be a talk about her working life and artistic process, by her daughter Tessa Newcomb, and grandson Henry Jackson Newcomb, including the screening of a filmed interview and studio visit with Mary by Caroline McAdam Clark.