The Penwith Society of Arts in Cornwall was formed on February 5th 1949. The Society was the vision of the late Borlase Smart. The members, among whom were Leonard Fuller, John Wells, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Barbara Hepworth, Denis Mitchell, Guido Morris and Peter Layon with Herbert Read as the president, formed the Borlase Smart Trust in his honour. They bought, with the help of the Arts Council, the old fishing lofts along Porthmeor beach, some of which had already been converted to Artists studio.

My father Denys Val Baker wrote in 1949 “In recent years the glory of the Newlyn School seems to have transferred to St Ives although it is no reflection on such fine painter as Charles Simpson, Dod Proctor and Mary Jewell, over at Newlyn”. The history of the Newlyn School is kept alive at Penlee House but may be not in Newlyn it self. I feel the time is ripe to redress the balance and bring back the awareness that the Artists colony in Cornwall started in Newlyn.

With the sad death of John Wells, his nephew gave the Borlase Smart Trust and the two properties in Newlyn known as the Anchor Studio and Trewarveneth Studios, both situated in the Meadow. The Trust has been renamed the Borlase Smart – John Wells Trust.

Anchor Studio, was built by Stanhope and Elisabeth Forbes in the early 100’s to house artist school, is to be completely renovated by the Trust with the upstairs remaining as a studio and downstairs living quarters. The hope is that visiting Artists from all over the world will take up residency there for a year. Trewaveneth will also be renovated and changed from three studios to eight, two of which will be outside workshops for Sculptors.

The beauty of both these schemes is that the fabric of neither building will change, the desperate need for studio space by artists in Penwith will be helped and Newlyn will benefit from the prestige and media coverage, which follows the world of Art.

The cost of the renovation of Anchor Studio and Trewaveneth is yet to be determined, the English Heritage Fund is very keen on the renovation of Anchor Studio as it is so unique, but Trewaveneth is a bigger funding problem, unless we can prove it was an Artist school before the County Council took it over as a Primary school.

Jane Val Baker Trustee Borlase Smart – John Wells Trust 05/03/05