TIME is ticking for to see treasured artworks at two very different exhibitions in Bishop Auckland.

Masterpieces by renowned 17th century French artist Nicolas Poussin, and community curated artworks by the late County Durham pitman painter Norman Cornish, are on show in the town until Sunday, January 5.

Bishop Trevor Gallery, within Auckland Castle, is currently host to the National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2019 featuring Poussin’s Triumph of Pan, while, Norman Cornish – A Slice of Life is on display at the Mining Art Gallery, in the Market Place nearby.

Both galleries form part of The Auckland Project regeneration charity and visitor destination, and will be open on Friday, December 27, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 then after New Year from Thursday, January 2 to Sunday, January 5, after which both specific exhibitions end.

Angela Thomas, exhibitions curator at The Auckland Project, said: “Both exhibitions have been designed to make important artworks accessible to everyone.

“The Triumph of Pan is a real national treasure, and Bishop Auckland is one of only three locations across the country that The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2019 has travelled to, so this is a remarkable opportunity to enjoy a classically inspired masterpiece in the north east.

“Norman Cornish is one of the UK’s most enduringly popular mining artists and much-loved in this region in particular. The Mining Art Gallery’s commemorative exhibition invites visitors to view his artwork through the eyes of his family and residents of his hometown of Spennymoor where he found decades of inspiration.”

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2019, sponsored by Christie’s, is at The Bishop Trevor Gallery, housed within a wing of 900-year-old Auckland Castle.

Classical masterpiece The Triumph of Pan by French Baroque artist, Nicolas Poussin, travelled from London to Bishop Auckland to form the centrepiece of the special exhibition and is one of the most significant works by Poussin in the UK. For this exhibition, it has been united with three preparatory drawings lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection, which offer insight into the artist’s working processes.

Together with works by Poussin’s contemporaries, the exhibition reveals the cultural significance of Rome during the seventeenth century and the context in which this important painting was created.

At the Mining Art Gallery, in Bishop Auckland Market Place, it is the County Durham mining community that is at the heart of another special exhibition. To mark his centenary year, Norman Cornish – A Slice of Life commemorates the work of one of the most celebrated artists of the North East and in particular, the inspiration he took from his former mining hometown to create evocative, warm and much-loved renderings of everyday life.

Exhibitions Curator Angela Thomas worked with Norman’s family, Spennymoor Settlement Sketching Club, Rosa Street Primary School and Tudhoe and Spennymoor Local History Society to choose works for display.

Their selections reveal that Norman’s carefully observed and lovingly created depictions of his hometown continue to resonate with the community living there today.

For more information on The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour and Norman Cornish – A Slice of Life visit aucklandproject.org

The Cornish exhibition is one of a number of exhibitions held across County Durham in 2019 to mark the centenary of the artist’s birth.

For more information visit normancornish.com

For information or tickets visit aucklandproject.org, call 01388-743797 or visit the Auckland Tower visitor centre in Bishop Auckland.