06-05-2025
The shy Briton that Hollywood's biggest stars flock to
Mary Newcomb (1922-2008) was a shy and self-effacing artist who spent most of her working life in the seclusion of rural East Anglia where her husband farmed. In 1970, she was discovered by the London dealer Andras Kalman, who staged her first exhibition at his gallery in smart, moneyed Knightsbridge.
Kalman had an eye for art that blended sophistication and simplicity, typified by LS Lowry, and Ben and Winifred Nicholson, all personal friends whose work he sold to the rich and famous.
In Newcomb's tender characterisation of farm animals, birds and bees, and in her humorous observations of country living, he found an artist who would appeal to his star-studded clientele. And in her work, they found an honest mix of truth and fantasy, a place of escape.
Some of Kalman's best clients were in the film and theatre business, including directors Bryan Forbes (Kalman was a backer on the classic 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind, starring Hayley Mills) and Richard Attenborough. Many of these clients are known to have bought works by Lowry and Ben Nicholson, as well as Christopher Wood and Alfred Wallis, but less is known about who bought the Mary Newcombs.
Last week, I visited an exhibition of her work at the Crane Kalman Gallery (Andras Kalman died in 2007, and it is now run by his son, Andrew) and encountered the Hollywood actress Jacqueline Bisset. Known for her appearances in films such as François Truffaut's Day for
Night and Roman Polanski's Cul de Sac, these days Bisset lives in Los Angeles but also has a home near the Knightsbridge gallery and had lent a painting to the exhibition.
'Since about 1974, I have acquired 14 paintings and drawings by Mary Newcomb – it's like an addiction,' she told me. 'The work, with its lack of guile, goes straight to my heart. I find in Mary's work a place of peace, quiet and reflection as well as humour.'
Looking through the Crane Kalman archives, it turns out that Bisset is not the only big name to have been persuaded by Newcomb's charms. Film stars Paul Newman, Julie Andrews and Rod Steiger, as well as Michael Parkinson and Cilla Black are among those who have bought her paintings. A recent disciple is Emma Thompson.
Newcomb's paintings and drawings were never expensive – less than £100 in the early days and rising to £75,000 at her peak. Often compared to Winifred Nicholson, Newcomb's auction record (£32,500) lags far behind Nicholson's (£245,000), though in terms of a place in the hearts of Hollywood's finest, there is no question of who's on top.
