Norman Cornish (1919-2014) was a man of destiny, an artist whose prodigious career emerged from the very heart of Britain's industrial past. Born in the mining town of Spennymoor, County Durham, his fate seemed sealed on Boxing Day in 1933 when, at just 14 years old, he began work as a miner. The foreman’s ominous greeting, “You’ve just signed your death warrant son,” serves as a powerful testament to the perilous world he was entering, and the extraordinary path he would forge from it. In a life of profound duality, Cornish navigated the darkness of the coal seams and the vibrant world of his art. He found a creative home at the Spennymoor Settlement Sketching Club, a breeding ground for talent that became affectionately known as the ‘Pitman’s Academy’. Here, he was encouraged to "paint the life he knew," a directive that would define his entire body of work. For over three decades, he worked underground, a true insider whose art was not an external observation but an intimate, lived experience. As a chronicler of a vanishing world, Cornish’s paintings and drawings offer an unrivalled social record. His work is a tribute to the community that shaped him, from the miners walking the pit roads at dawn, to the lively bar scenes bathed in the amber glow of brown ale, to the quiet moments of domestic life. His remarkable ability to capture the "wonderful shapes people made in their varied attitudes" elevates his work beyond mere documentation to a poignant celebration of the enduring human spirit. Unlike his contemporary, L.S. Lowry, who observed the industrial landscape from the outside, Cornish’s art is imbued with the hard-won authenticity of a man who lived the life he painted. He is one of the most celebrated and sought-after British artists of the 20th century, with his works held in public collections across the UK and internationally. In his own words, though the pits and streets of his youth have disappeared, “in my memory, and I hope in my drawings, they live on”. His art serves as a powerful and lasting monument to a way of life that, while gone, continues to resonate deeply within the cultural identity of the North.