Nostalgic scenes of Old Falmouth and area, many never publicly displayed before, feature in a new exhibition entitled Wintering in Falmouth which can be seen Falmouth Art Gallery.

Claude Hamilton Rowbotham was not only a skilled artist but produced remarkably detailed artworks using a single-plate coloured etching process that he invented but never revealed, taking the secret to his grave. Born in 1864, Rowbotham starting coming to Falmouth in the 1890s for the sake of his health, and was a leading light in the town’s art community.

Tourism was becoming ever more popular and visitors with a bit more money to spend wanted a quality souvenir of their visit that was also affordable. To meet the demand Rowbotham developed his secret etching process, making the plates in private, with local women then producing limited edition print runs of 100 in his premises on Upton Slip. The original plates were also destroyed when he died.

The process was introduced in 1914 and as they became more popular Rowbotham also visited other popular British tourist areas, and even Italy to produce etchings. The Falmouth exhibition though concentrates on Cornish scenes from the gallery’s own and private collections.

Gallery director Henrietta Boex said: “Claude was a very talented artist, but also needed to make a living so he painted what people wanted and then developed this process so that people could afford to buy them.

“He even made the etchings in different sizes and prices to suit every pocket. When you walk along the high street and see limited edition prints in art shops then you’re seeing today’s evolution of what Claude did almost a century ago.”

But what is also special about the exhibition is the rare display of several large watercolours, also of Cornish scenes, painted in the years before he developed the etching process. They have been lent by collector Mark Laity, himself from a Falmouth family.

Mark said: “Ever since I first saw a Rowbotham in this gallery I have loved his work, but when I saw his larger watercolours I was blown away. I feel so lucky to own some and am really happy to have the chance to let others see them. I hope people will like them as much as I do – I think they will.”

Henrietta added: “These are wonderful pictures, showing scenes local people will instantly relate to, and demonstrating all Claude’s ability but on a larger scale. Claude wasn’t Cornish but I think we can say he was one of ours and a very real part of Falmouth’s artistic heritage.”

The Claude Rowbotham exhibition Wintering in Falmouth is free to visit and can be seen in the Entrance Gallery of Falmouth Art Gallery until February 11. For more details call 01326 313863 or email info@falmouthartgallery.com.