A SINGLE page of the Radio Times is set to sell for hundreds of pounds at a Tyneside auction today. And with a price tag of up to £800, it is no ordinary page.
The paper was used as a makeshift canvas by celebrated County Durham artist Norman Cornish when he paid a visit to the home of his friend Bob Rhodes.
Both grew up and lived in Spennymoor, where Mr Rhodes was a director of the Thorn Electrical Industries factory.
Janet Maughan, Mr Rhodes’s niece, said that Norman Cornish would often carry his paints with him.
“As their wives chatted, Norman decided he wanted to do some painting and asked if my uncle had any suitable paper. He didn’t, so Norman used the page,” she said.
The resulting image of a portrait of a young woman, looking out from between the programme listings, will be sold today by Newcastle auctioneers Anderson & Garland.
Another four Norman Cornish paintings which belong to Mr Rhodes, now 89, will also be in the sale, including a view of the Newcastle bar in Spennymoor, priced at £1,500-£2,500.
Mr Cornish, now 92, also still lives in Spennymoor.
