As part of the Newbery Trail project, Lyme Regis-based artist Darrell Wakelam will be working with five primary schools in the Bridport area.
Through a series of workshops Darrell will be exploring our local heritage with pupils and working with them to develop a number of large pictures that show what is important to children in the Bridport area today.
Darrell said: "This is a great project to be a part of. Fra Newbery's work is a fantastic source of inspiration and hopefully the children involved in the art workshops will enjoy learning about him and producing their own artwork based on his paintings.”
Newbery was brought up in Bridport and retired to Corfe Castle in 1919 after a long and illustrious career as one of the most significant directors of Glasgow School of Art. As well as a respected painter in his own right he is perhaps best known for his pivotal role in promoting the work of his protégé, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Said Darrell: “In order to make the work more accessible for the children they will be in charge of choosing the backdrops and the characters, both factual and fictional, to go in their portraits. This should mean the finished pieces will be quite diverse and unusual.
“I hope Newbery would have approved of this risky approach, as an arts educator himself I'm sure he would have relished the challenge."
The finished art work will be on display to the public as part of the Newbery Trail at Bridport Arts Centre and Bridport Town Hall throughout April 2008.
For more information on the Newbery Trail, visit www.franewbery.co.uk