Tremayne Applied Arts

Street an Pol, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2DS

Tel: 01736 797779

e-mail: tonkinson@btinternet.com

Tremayne Applied Arts was founded in 1997 and is still run with great knowledge and enthusiasm by owners Roger and Eileen Tonkinson. Set on a narrow street right in the heart of the artistic community of St Ives, their gallery is housed in a Victorian/Edwardian building that was originally a bakery. Two of its three rooms still have the original slate floors, while the third room opens out onto a pleasant little slate-paved courtyard. It's a lovely setting for a gallery where you might be able to find original works for sale by some of the famous artists who made St Ives their home.

Visitors are often surprised by some of the artists whose work can be found at Tremayne Applied Arts. The renowned and influential potter Bernard Leach is one such name, alongside his wife Janet Leach and Bernard's son, David, who made up a St Ives pottery dynasty. Ben Nicholson and Patrick Heron are two more of the famous names associated with St Ives, and their work can be found in the Tremayne Gallery too. The work of Dame Lucie Rie, whose pottery is on display in places such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, can also be found at Tremayne, as can the abstract pioneer Victor Pasmore.

The gallery doesn't only show local artists, though, as work by international names including Lalique, Braque, Tapio Wirkkala and Le Corbusier can also be seen here in what is almost a Design Museum as much as an art gallery. The owners like to cover all the major design periods of the 20th and 21st centuries, from the Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the 20th century through to the present day. You're therefore likely to find work here from the 1920s and 1930s, and the 1950s-1970s, in all areas of the Applied Arts.

Tremayne displays and sells not just paintings, prints and ceramics, but also furniture, sculptures, glassware and fabrics too. If you don't find what you're looking for then Roger and Eileen will be happy to help you try to find it through their search service. As well as their regular displays there are also occasional exhibitions, often coinciding with the St Ives September Festival, though any time is a good time to visit this exceptional gallery.