Why Cornwall? Segment from BBC Monitor, September 1958
'You ask me, Why Cornwall? And what can I say easily back to you … ' Writing at his desk in a cottage overlooking Gurnard's Head in Cornwall, the poet W.S. Graham considers what it was that lured him so far from his place of birth, Greenock in Scotland. During his answer, the film celebrates the vibrant community of artists in and around St Ives.
‘The community functions as a community and one can understand it, that seems to me a very important part of an artists’ life.’ Barbara Hepworth
International painters, sculptors, potters and craftsmen of St Ives are depicted in the film, including Bernard Leach, Ben Nicholson, Kate Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Peter Lanyon, William Redgrave, Bryan Wynter, Lionel Miskin and Patrick Heron, each offering their own perspective on the uniqueness of this part of the South West, both its landscape and its people.
This film is a segment of the BBC Monitor documentary, September 1958. BBC © copyright content reproduced courtesy of the BBC.
Join us for a talk with Sam Buchan-Watts and Lavinia Singer about the writer W.S. Graham on 29 March, 15.00 – 16.00