Artists and Authors

in St Leonards on Sea

 

The opportunities to write or to paint that attracted so many artists and authors to Hastings and St Leonards on Sea, in the 19th and 20th centuries, still exist and new artists and authors continue to make the towns their home. Small niche galleries abound in St Leonards as a latter day cultural centre, Old Town with its older houses, narrow lanes and twittens will always provide inspiration for the imagination as does the Hastings Contemporary at Rock-a-Nore and The Stables Theatre and Art Gallery.

Those included in these pages were unlikely to have had their own social media account, X feed, Instagram or Tic Toc pages, unheard of in the golden age in which they lived. Often their value to art and literature did not materialise until well after their death. Others came to fame by word of mouth or serialised stories in the newspapers that many in that Victorian population could not afford.  

For all the Authors and Artists mentioned, there is a brief summary of their life  where appropriate.  I have included music within the broad scope of Artists and if their music adds to the story or to your imagination,  I have provided a link, through a QR code, to a track of their  music to listen to on your walk.

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