History of Art - Royal Grammar School Newcastle

It is hard to imagine RGS without a thriving Art department, but Art was not taught formally at school for most of our 500 years.

Until the school moved to Rye Hill in 1870, Art was not part of our curriculum.The first Art Master appointment was recorded in 1876: James C Watson (Staff 1876-1919), an accomplished painter.

Then, Art was referred to as 'drawing’, and was often combined with such subjects as woodwork or ‘crafts’. On our move to Eskdale Terrace in 1906, an Art Room was located in the Main Hall building. It was wholly inadequate for teaching Art, as it did not even have a sink or tap! The Plender Library took over the space in 1931 and the Art department was moved to spacious studios on the first floor – what is now our Heads of Year department, Computer Science labs and PSHE classroom.

*Postcard image of the original RGS Art Room, c.1910s. RGS Archives [ref: SUR/125]*

*Head of Art, Cecil Marfitt-Smith, in 1948. RGS Archives*

Just after this move, a new Head of Art was appointed. Cecil Marfitt-Smith (Staff 1932-1971) led the department for almost 40 years, including the period of the school’s evacuation to Penrith during the Second World War. Art was not a core subject for all year groups during this time, and was mainly a co-curricular activity. Drawing, painting and woodwork were ‘Leisure Hour Activities’, which took place in the Art Room, open to students at lunchtime on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, as well as Saturday mornings. Marfitt-Smith established a tradition of an annual Art exhibition for students and the department would support drama productions with scenery and costumes.

*Page from the RGS Visitors Book, illustrated by Cecil Marfitt-Smith, Lord Mayor's Day 1967. RGS Archives [ref: 319]*

*Final page from the RGS Visitors Book, illustrated by Cecil Marfitt-Smith. Contains a message from Marfitt-Smith and an illustration of himself, waving goodbye. 1971. RGS Archives [ref: 319]*

Art continued to go from strength to strength under the leadership of Kevin Egan-Fowler (Staff 1969-2013), who transformed the department to a well-respected academic and dynamic part of the school. Headmaster Alister Cox (Staff 1972-1994) reflected in his retirement speech to the 1993 ONA Dinner:

"This newly self-confident era of RGS Art is reflected in the numbers leaving us to pursue an Art specialty at College or University: in the 1960s there were (in total) 7, whereas in subsequent decades there have been 25 and then 35. We take our Art seriously."

*Photograph from the Art Exhibition at Speech Day, 1970. Winter 1971 Novo magazine [ref: RGS/NOV/309]*

*Photograph of the Art Studio, c.1970s. RGS Archives [ref: 411]*

Kevin Egan-Fowler established a modern Fine Art curriculum, having studied under Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) at Newcastle University Fine Art Department, and later with William Varley (who had been his Art teacher at Leicester City Boys Grammar School), when he returned to the North East as a lecturer in Art Education at Newcastle University.

The new curriculum was rich in ideas and Artist connections, using the newly established Art Library and regular field trips to inspire Art students, offering multiple opportunities for huge ambitious works, workshops and a variety of approaches that mirrored the changes in the Art world.

*Fish-eye lens photograph of the Art Studio, with Head of Art Kevin Egan-Fowler. c.1980s. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

*Photograph of a Third Form Display in the main Art Studio, c.1990s. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

Whilst exam success was the baseline, and the Art Department exam results were always amongst the best in the school, the new curriculum saw the Art Dept operating with the ambition of an Art School.

‘Crits’ - critique - had an integral role; ‘studio beats’ celebrated the ethos, and joint ‘crits’ were arranged with local schools as part of our offer. Robert Witkins’ concept of “The Intelligence of Feeling” became core philosophy and the Times New Roman Bold art@rgs logo became the visible mark of this new self-confidence.

Ably supported by Simon Crow (Staff 1993-2002), significantly more students opted for Art, particularly when Kevin Egan-Fowler's research revealed that contrary to popular belief, most Medical Schools (as has always been the case with Schools of Architecture), were happy to accept Art as an entry requirement and the department needed to grow physically to accommodate them.

Former Head of Art Peter Bennett (Staff 1971-1976) had begun the expansion when he doubled the number of studios by partitioning the old 1931 Art Room, but the opportunity provided when Science moved to the new Neil Goldie Centre in 1997 was a game changer, and Art flowed into the old labs. We now had five main studios, a thriving gallery space, a library/seminar room, a computer graphics area, darkroom, office, printmaking facilities and a large storeroom/resource centre with kiln.

Materials and processes also changed as the department grew and the airy studio spaces offered multiple opportunities for hugely ambitious projects including performance and installation, lens based and digital media, and a variety of approaches that mirrored the changes in the Art world, taking the best from our heritage and combining it with the cutting edge. A succession of inspirational Artist teachers ensured that our teaching continued to be rich in ideas, processes and Artist connections.

*Photograph of students working on Computer Graphics in the Art Department, c.1990s. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

*Photograph of a Year 10 art project, c.1990s. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

Selection from GCSE and A Level Art Exhibitions, and 'The Art Department Goes to New York'. Novo magazine, Vol.CIV No.3, Autumn 1997 [RGS/NOV/389], pp.25-28

Gallery and exhibition visits to London were augmented by trips to Paris and pioneering tours of the New York Art scene, giving students invaluable in-person access to world class Art. Life-Class, workshops, visiting Artists, a programme of solo student shows in the gallery and regular field trips inspired our Art students.

The inauguration of the RGS drawing prize and the hugely popular and well respected annual Private View for A-level and GCSE students, an event still going strong in 2025, offered a chance to celebrate the range and variety of approaches. Sixth Form Artists loved having their sponsored Artists’ cards.

Our student work was exhibited beyond school in venues such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Gallery and the Hancock Gallery. The tradition continues with a forthcoming exhibition at the Hancock Gallery this September showcasing our Year 13 Artists’ work as part of the RGS500 events.

*Photograph of Headmaster James FX Miller on a visit to the Art Department c.1997. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

We continue to create projects with our partnership schools and organisations and have maintained close links with Newcastle and Northumbria Universities who help us to develop our academic offer and keep us current. Many students have benefitted from an engagement with TICE Fashion and our Architecture Society has been working towards a Bio Design Challenge project supported by the Royal Society.

Fine Art has always been popular with architects, artists, designers, photographers, medics, dentists and a whole variety of amazing careers, and they return to give talks for students who continue to thrive in our rich problem-solving and cultural brokerage tradition.

*RGS students visiting Antony Gormley's maquettes for the Angel of the North, c.1998. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

*Photograph of art technician Allan Lavin cleaning the sculpture 'Icarus' by ON Mark Rinaldi, 1998. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

*Photograph of artist Richard Broderick visiting RGS, demonstrating the construction of a wicker horse for Christine Egan-Fowler's 'Troy'-themed term project, c.1990s. RGS Archives [ref: Acc 0325]*

In 2014, under the leadership of Head of Art Graham Mason (ON 1989-96, staff 2005-present), plans began for a new purpose-built Art department. The bold and flexible design opened in 2019, allowing spaces for class teaching, a Sixth Form area, an office hub, dark room and exhibition areas. The department continues to be a hub for exceptional creativity at RGS.

*Photograph of the Art Department Office, 2019. © RGS Newcastle*

Heads of Art since 1876:

James C Watson, Art Master (1876-1919)
J White, Art Master (1920-1932)
Cecil Marfitt-Smith, Head of Art (1932-1971)
Peter Bennett, Head of Art (1971-1976)
Kevin Egan-Fowler, Head of Art (1976-2013)
Graham Mason, Head of Art (2013-present) (ON 1989-96)

Thank you to Mr Egan-Fowler (Former Head of Art | Staff 1969-2013) and Mrs Egan-Fowler (Current Art Teacher) for their generous contributions of both text and imagery to this article.

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