TOM McGuinness died in February just two months before his 80th birthday, which was due to be marked by a major retrospective exhibition of his work in the gallery bearing his name in Bishop Auckland Town Hall.

The exhibition goes ahead on Monday, and its purpose remains unchanged: to celebrate the life and work of a man whose art captured the essence of life in the Durham coalfield.

With Spennymoor's Norman Cornish, Tom McGuinness evocatively recorded the industry upon which so many Durham lives depended for so many generations.

He was also there at its death in the 1980s, and in his art portrayed the sadness and bitterness of the miners, their families and their communities whose way of life had been killed.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of a book, McGuinness - Interpreting the art of Tom McGuinness, by Robert McManners and Gillian Wales.

The authors - a Bishop Auckland GP and the manager of Bishop Auckland Town Hall respectively- had known the artist for at least 30 years, and in 1997 published his biography.

Their new book contains 60 plates, from which almost all of the pictures in this supplement have been selected.

Robert and Gillian have more than 100 examples of south Durham mining art, including McGuinness originals, which they hope one day to put on permanent display.

It is entirely appropriate that this tribute to McGuinness should appear in The Northern Echo.

In the heyday of the Durham coalfield, the paper was known as "the miners' bible" as it contained all they needed to know about their lives.

McGuinness was the great pitman artist who chronicled the miners' lives and left such a rich legacy that future generations will be able to understand the existence of their forefathers.

Published: 30/03/2006