Newcastle is a city of change and transformation whose inhabitants have one eye on engineered futures, while another eye looks at the ruins of the past (the train tracks cutting through the grounds of the castle symbolise this point). As historians we are excited to be based in the city and we hope you are too. Although it is still surrounded by parts of the old Roman wall, Newcastle has long expanded past its traditional core hugging the River Tyne at the base of the Castle. It is no surprise then that Newcastle - its places and people - have featured prominently in art. This digital exhibition offers a taster of the kind of visual sources available to students and some suggested walks in the city.

12 artworks
View of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead
© the copyright holder. Image credit: Shipley Art Gallery

View of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead c.1970

Derek Albert Hedgecock (1932–1999)

Oil on board

H 80 x W 121 cm

Shipley Art Gallery

Excavations for the High Level Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

Excavations for the High Level Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne c.1846

Thomas Miles Richardson I (1784–1848)

Oil on canvas

H 96.7 x W 83.2 cm

Laing Art Gallery

St Nicholas Street, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

St Nicholas Street, Newcastle upon Tyne 1902

Louis Hubbard Grimshaw (1870–1944)

Oil on board

H 29.1 x W 42.6 cm

Laing Art Gallery

The Black Gate, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Image credit: Lady Lever Art Gallery

The Black Gate, Newcastle Upon Tyne

George Balmer (1805–1846) (attributed to)

Oil on canvas

H 75 x W 64 cm

Lady Lever Art Gallery

A Meeting of the Newcastle Phrenological Society
Image credit: National Trust Images

A Meeting of the Newcastle Phrenological Society 1835

British (English) School

Oil on panel

H 22 x W 27.5 cm

National Trust, Cragside

Newgate, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

Newgate, Newcastle upon Tyne c.1820

James Russell Ryott (c.1788–1851)

Oil on board

H 33.7 x W 46.5 cm

Laing Art Gallery

New Bridge over Pandon Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

New Bridge over Pandon Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne c.1812

unknown artist

Oil on canvas

H 61 x W 91.6 cm

Laing Art Gallery

The Banquet Given on the Occasion of the Opening of the Grainger Market, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1835
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

The Banquet Given on the Occasion of the Opening of the Grainger Market, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1835 c.1835

Henry Perlee Parker (1795–1873)

Oil on canvas

H 96 x W 159.8 cm

Laing Art Gallery

The Great Fire of Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

The Great Fire of Newcastle upon Tyne 19th C

unknown artist

Oil on mother-of-pearl & glass

H 16.4 x W 23.6 cm

Laing Art Gallery

Whalers Entering the Tyne
Image credit: Torre Abbey Museum

Whalers Entering the Tyne 1830

John Wilson Carmichael (1799–1868)

Oil on canvas

H 74.5 x W 130.5 cm

Torre Abbey Museum

The Tyne Bridge and All Saints Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
© the artist. Image credit: Newcastle City Council

The Tyne Bridge and All Saints Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear 1979

Richard Flynn

Oil on canvas

H 67 x W 82 cm

Newcastle City Council

The Old Fish Market, Sandhill, Newcastle upon Tyne
Image credit: Laing Art Gallery

The Old Fish Market, Sandhill, Newcastle upon Tyne c.1826–1830

Henry Perlee Parker (1795–1873)

Oil on canvas

H 115 x W 152.1 cm

Laing Art Gallery