Mural brings touch of Cornwall to Bath

At more than 31 feet long, it is the biggest painting ever to have gone on show in Bath.

Peter Lanyon's gigantic oil painting proved such a challenge to hang, that the road outside the council-run Victoria Art Gallery had to be closed while it was unloaded.

Eight members of staff were needed to carry it from the articulated lorry which delivered it to the wall inside the Bridge Street venue and it took several hours to hang.

Titled Porthmeor, the oil painting was commissioned in 1962 as a mural by the American collector and patron, Stanley J Seeger from the famous Cornish artist, who died in 1964 from a blood clot following a gliding accident.

Seeger specifically ordered the mural to fit in the stunning music room at his New Jersey home as the latest addition to a Lanyon collection which already boasted six paintings by the artist, and several Picassos.

Now for the first time ever, Porthmeor has gone on show alongside the full-size preparatory study for the painting which is hung directly above the mural itself.

The idea for the painting was to show the sea and myths associated with it such as the legend of the Golden Fleece.

To facilitate the first public showing of these works, the Lanyon family has supported the exhibition. Twelve members of the family attended the preview evening last Friday and they have lent a number of seldom-seen works, including preparatory drawings, correspondence relating to the mural, 3D constructions and a late partially completed work that sheds light on Lanyon's working methods.

Lanyon, who was born in 1918, was the only native-born Cornishman among the leading artists of the St Ives School. He taught at the Bath Academy of Art from 1952-57 and is remembered by former students for his unusual approach that involved exploring landscape from every conceivable angle. The exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery, near Pulteney Bridge, Bath runs until January 4, 2009.