EXHIBITION COMMENTS
David Mulholland, Painter
These comments are drawn from the Comments Book that was left at the Dorman Museum during the exhibition of David Mulholland’s work. I have reproduced the comments here as they were written, albeit with some spelling corrections. I have not attempted to reproduce drawings (smiley faces for instance). Some of the comments were signed but signatures were occasionally difficult to decipher. I have included those where I had some confidence that I had interpreted them correctly: no doubt, there are instances where my confidence was misplaced. In some cases, I have opted to use the initials only. A few people wrote comments in a foreign language:, and I have done my best to reproduce the gist of them. Most people dated their comments but occasionally they did not. Dates, however, are easy to construe since the comments are, of course, sequential.
Inevitably, given the location of the book and the exhibition, some comments were really about the museum in general, rather than specifically about the exhibition. I have excluded such comments along with those from kids taking advantage of the availability of pen and paper. I am sure they found their work amusing. Some of it I never saw because museum staff were diligent in removing obscenities from the book.
I think it is amazing that, even after exclusions, almost 500 people took the time to share with us their feelings about the exhibition; some did so in a few words but others went to some length to express their views about the quality of the work and/or to describe how they were emotionally moved by its power. Those who made comments come from a broad spectrum. They are mostly local – some who knew David well but others who didn’t know of him at all – but quite a few were from elsewhere in the UK, and several were from overseas. There was a wide age range too, and the number of astute comments made by young children – in some cases very young children – is particularly impressive. A very few comments were negative and, on grounds of balance, I have included them all here, The vast majority of comments were, however, overwhelmingly positive, capturing considerable enthusiasm for David Mulholland’s work.
I am grateful to the staff of Dorman’s for looking after the comments book during the exhibition, especially with regard to constantly replacing pens that went missing.
Pete McCarthy
From the exhibition comments book
9 Oct Absolutely amazing exhibition (fabulous).
9 Oct Congratulations to all concerned. Dave M. would be amazed. His work is worthy of this exhibition. Lis Scotson – formerly Evening Gazette (now in BC, Canada) interviewed Dave M. in 1971
9 Oct Great night, great exhibition, great painter. Robin Humphrey, Durham
10 Oct Dave – for one happy hour, you came back to life. Peter Marsh
10 Oct Dave’s love for his local area shines through. I was very touched.
10 Oct Beautiful exhibition, Dave. Les Brunskill
10 Oct Not one of the greatest but one of the best.
10 Oct I am sure you followed me around, Dave. Brilliant exhibition and book. Thanks to all concerned. Keith
11 Oct Wonderful. Pete Mc
11 Oct Ya call this art? YES, very much so. AG
11 Oct Powerful images. Fond memories of Dave from Gillbrook. Great legacy from a memorable man. Jeff Moulder
11 Oct Brief memories of him at Runswick. What a character. Kevin O’Byrne
11 Oct I find the painting done at the age of 13, BLOODY FANTASTIC – the scale, colour and composition – it is really exceptionally beautiful. T. Powell
12 Oct Brings back memories of Dave a talented and controversial, one-off guy. Gillbrook colleagues: Linda Thompson, Margaret Walpole, Dfenane Watkins, Marillyn Henderson, Hazel Clarke
12 Oct Bless you Dave. 6 eggs again!!!! Your second mam. Dot xxx
12 Oct Brings back many memories of Dave – a talented and controversial one-off guy. Gillbrook colleagues
12 Oct Good memories of Cromwell Road School (1951 – 57) and then in the 60s around South Bank and Normanby. Exhibition a long time coming but well worth the wait. Ian Ford
12 Oct It is rubbish.
12 Oct Some great art.
14 Oct It was very interesting. Amy Rose-Brown
14 Oct A moving experience. I really liked the ‘Lively Tide’ picture.
14 Oct It is very good. Thank you.
14 Oct Some good art and it was very clever. I loved the painting Danby. I liked the 3D effect. Emily Hannah
16 Oct Wonderful art. Very clever boy and local lad. JC
16 Oct Good local lad. Brilliant.
16 Oct Lovely hang. Congratulations. Ian and Sue Mack
16 Oct I have fond memories of being taught by Mr Mulholland at Gillbrook School. Nice to be reminded of his lovely landscapes of the area. About time his work was exhibited together. K. Lewis MA
16 Oct Fantastic, excellent exhibition. Well done, all concerned for bringing local talent to the town.
16 Oct Very striking but I fail to see ‘The Night Shift’. Roger C
16 Oct ‘Girl in Night Surf’ – extraordinary painting.
17 Oct Supa Dupa. Love the ‘Piggy Back’. MC
17 Oct Dave is a major Teesside talent and deserves recognition, as this splendid exhibition shows. MH
17 Oct I enjoyed this exhibition. My children and I feel the most interesting/enjoyable picture is ‘Untitled – Painted at time of the Gulf War’. Poppy is meaningful to the family. A talented artist. Well done.
18 Oct He was a really nice man and this shows through all his work. A pleasure to meet you again, Mulholland. He was so gifted that, in a way, he struggled with his own talent. But it was there all right.
18 Oct Very thought provoking stuff, so much of his work in one place. Well done everyone involved.
18 Oct Fabulous.
18 Oct Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!!
19 Oct A real artist, with heart, soul and talent. So uncommercial – unlike some.
19 Oct Excellent exhibition. Well worth a visit. Should be shown at Mima.
19 Oct Excellent exhibition. A truly talented artist. Will come back to see again. Should be in national gallery but leave it here so local people can see what a truly talented man from humble beginnings can achieve. Marvellous!!
19 Oct Very powerful. Interesting. Wonderful. A painter of his time. A great artist. J and K Lawson.
20 Oct Dave had a unique talent, with a gift for capturing Social History. John C
20 Oct Good work. R. Harrington
20 Oct Very rewarding. WT
20 Oct Exciting
20 Oct Makes you think. Very good indeed. JCG
20 Oct I was also taught by Tom Dalton at Victoria Street, then Sarah Metcalfe. He was an inspiration to us all. I knew Dave well in the early 70s and this exhibition brings him to life, with fond memories of paintings stored behind my mam’s sofa in South Bank. Rest in peace Dave. Barbara Anderson
23 Oct Some really inspiring pieces of work. I love the textures and tones he created. Will return for another look soon.
25 Oct A bit gloomy.
25 Oct A very talented man (very good). C. Blakeman
25 Oct I knew Dave very well, and liked all his work.
25 Oct An appropriate retrospective selection, showing experimentation with different styles and media, often rooted in local environment and experience. Some pieces are simplistic but some deserve repeated viewing. The most successful merit wider recognition that this exhibition should help achieve. Rob Johnson
25 Oct Really impressive. This artist deserves wider recognition. Why are local artists not shown more at Mima? Hugo Pollock
26 Oct Missy (aged 4) liked ’Father and daughter watching a lively tide on an orange night’. Jason (aged 6) liked ‘Sawmill Creek; Wassi, Nigeria’. I believe dedication to Middlesbrough and Cleveland’s local artists is a huge thing and showing these art works is paramount to local well-being. All pieces were stunning. How about a Tom Wall exhibition?
26 Oct Loved it. ‘Thanks’. Enjoyed the book so much. Wish I could stay longer ‘Well done’. I agree with the Tom Wall idea. Thanks so much. Mackenzie
26 Oct This is epic. Leon
26 Oct Being born on Teesside (Middlesbrough). An awful lot of his paintings bring it all back to life. The excitement, dirt and hardship of 50 years ago. Exciting and a thrill to walk around the gallery. I still live here and sure feel proud to be part of this exhibition.
27 Oct It was good and amusing. I am glad I came! My granddad enjoyed it too.
27 Oct It was fun to see how David Mulholland was a very good painter. WAHOO! Charles
27 Oct A very varied, interesting exhibition. Much enjoyed. Thank you.
27 Oct Bringing to life my past and present. Wonderful. Anne and Bob
28 Oct He has brought a lot of my feelings for my area to life. Well done indeed.
28 Oct Best teacher I ever had. So sorry to see he did not enjoy his time at Gillbrook. When now I see his work I can understand why. I would love to see that picture he was doing in the art room at the time he was teaching me. Mark Goodwin
28 Oct Awesome.
28 Oct Nice paintings and drawings.
28 Oct Zac (aged 11 years) really liked some of the paintings. Glad we came.
28 Oct Range of artwork could have been more varied. It was a tad too dark. That said, however. It is a nice display of local artwork. I enjoyed it.
30 Oct A fantastic exhibition. Put together like this I could really appreciate his talent. Well done! An inspiring collection, and well put together. Samantha
30 Oct A wonderful exhibition. Very moving.
30 Oct A fabulous collection. Wonderful memories. Josie Lawrence
30 Oct Mint paintings. Elena
30 Oct Excellent work. S. Meek
30 Oct I love it. It is so awesome. I love the effort. Well done. Nicole
31 Oct Who says art has to be cheerful? We spent a long time looking at these dark evocative paintings. Fab! Sarah Gunson, Harry aged 9, Jude aged 8
31 Oct Think it was a fantastic room. It was great. Jacqueline, Craig, Erin and Ethan
31 Oct It was good but I didn’t get the names of the drawings. I liked the head.
31 Oct It was epic.
31 Oct I loved it. It was cool. I wouldn’t change a thing. My favourite part was Danby. It was fan-tast-ic. I would give it five stars.
31 Oct I really didn’t get the weird names you gave them, like Smithie rules OK. I really don’t think the names go well, and in your painting it looked like you were scribbling
1 Nov I liked his paint work.
1 Nov Too much old, not enough new modern art.
1 Nov Fantastic exhibition. Arinkaki
2 Nov ‘Danby’ is my favourite. Takudzwa
2 Nov ‘Monday’ was my favourite. Francis
2 Nov It was mint.
2 Nov Wonderful. I felt him and his feelings. Gary
2 Nov Very nice paintings. Very interesting.
3 Nov The old station master’s house in South Bank. I played in that when I was a child. Great illustration of this. Well done. Mr S, Ingleby Barwick
3 Nov Great art work. Jordan Hyland Waldon, aged 11
3 Nov Great work. Jon Forbes
3 Nov Inspiring exhibition. Amazing. Georgia Forbes
8 Nov Bought the book. Paintings are inspirational, full of energy and movement. Nicola and Janet Jeffrey (mam and daughter) from South Bank
8 Nov Wow! Why didn’t I know about David Mulholland before? Such quiet power and a great fondness for Teesside. Everyone should come and see this exhibition. Jim Colwell
9 Nov Nathan and Terry and John was here. Some good paintings. Very good indeed.
9 Nov Never heard of David Mulholland before – a fantastic talent – brought back many memories of my early life in Teesside, especially in the Princess Alice.
10 Nov It was great. I come here every week and I never get tired of it. I love doing art, and being around great art like this makes me feel great and that I can improve on my work to get me as good as one of these. Well, maybe not as good, but I can try. Emily Hannah Willet
11 Nov I think these pictures are outstanding. My favourite is Danby. I think it is lovely. All of them are lovely. Loving it.
11 Nov I loved this exhibition. All of the paintings have inspired me to do some painting at home. Amber Carr
11 Nov It is good with me taking art as my options, and it has given me some ideas for my next one. Thank you. Chantelle Ellis
12 Nov The best exhibition by far that I have ever seen. David Mulholland has to be one of the finest artists to have come from this area. ‘MIMA’ look on and be ashamed at what you are missing.
13 Nov Good show. TG
13 Nov What can you say? What an artist! Surely one of the best countywide. Thanks to Tom, Pete and all concerned for bringing his work to the public. Well done. Joe McLay
14 Nov Some really good work. I particularly liked the sculpture in the glass plinth with the cigarettes inside. WELL DONE. S. Hodgson
16 Nov Came from Wallsend. Well worth the visit. Love all, but love the charcoal and pencil ones the best. Night Swims are my very best. Wonderful. Jacqueline Kerr
16 Nov Amazing paintings; really worth seeing. Beautifully put together. David captures the scene/mood so well. Polly Kerr
16 Nov So glad I came! Love the Night Swim. JM
16 Nov An enjoyable exhibition and interesting take on such artistic painting. DP
17 Nov Good to see a retrospective of a talented local artist. Would be great to see workshops – paintings, poetry – held here to engage with the local community. The stories and history in these paintings needs to be enjoyed with schoolchildren – to create aspiration. Other local artists should be shown here too. This could be an antidote to Mima, which isn’t supportive of local artists. Chris
17 Nov Goose bumps on goose bumps for a ‘humble artist’. Will be back soon to see some more. Plum Leaf
17 Nov So nice to see so many of his works together. Thank you all for your hard work to make this happen. It is nice for everyone who knew Dave to see him getting some well-earned recognition. It may make others sit up and realise what a talent he had. John and Babs McElvaney
18 Nov Stunning real art. I had never heard of David until now, and have greatly enjoyed viewing his work. I will be back for more! Thanks to Dorman Museum for putting on such a great display. Howard Bailey, Middlesbrough
18 Nov Enjoyed the art. Appreciate such a brilliant display. Elly
18 Nov Great exhibiiont. Thoroughly enjoyable.
21 Nov Gritty, down to earth. WOW. SP, Saltburn
22 Nov Excellent exhibition. Thank you. Ann and Terry Whitfield, Barnard Castle
22 Nov Another look around the exhibition – brilliant – each visit, another discovery. C. Forbes
22 Nov The exhibition is well worth seeing. Thank you.
22 Nov Very nice, great exhibition!
22 Nov Great paintings by David Mulholland at such a young age,
23 Nov Marvellous art work. God Bless You. J. Barnes, M’BRO
23 Nov Great Museum, been here with niece and nana. Loved it! Joanne O’Conor
24 Nov Breath-taking art with a heart-breaking story. The variety blew us away. Simon and Emma Merson
24 Nov I love the art here coz it is brilliant. Age 10
24 Nov Boro lad. Captures what it was like. DT
24 Nov Very good. Amazing exhibition.
24 Nov Good! Very different.
25 Nov Different to any painting style I’ve seen. Georgia Magie, age 8
25 Nov I enjoyed the exhibition, very interesting. I want to know more.
25 Nov I enjoyed looking at the different types of paintings and the rest of the museum.
25 Nov I enjoyed looking at these images and looking at the different techniques of painting and drawing.
25 Nov A lovely exhibition of moving art work. What a shame he did not promote himself more.
25 Nov Wonderful exhibition. A.M.P
27 Nov Real beauty.
27 Nov Amazing art work, very skilled and thought provoking. Thanks for bringing it here. D. Hall
28 Nov It is fantastic to see recognition of such a local talent. It brought back fond memories of my time at school when he was my art teacher. The ciggies and the chequebook made me giggle as it was typical of him.
28 Nov Great to see so much of Dave’s art work in one location. Brought back memories of having a pint with Dave on Friday evenings – always an interesting experience. Pete Davies, Marton, Middlesbrough
29 Nov Nice to see Dave recognised. We were in Tom Dalton’s art class together. Good times!! Paul Allan
30 Nov We were on ‘nodding’ terms but I never realised how great an artist he was! Fantastic.
1 Dec Another example of the sheer talent that South Bank breeds: great artists, great sportsmen, great people. Don Chesney
1 Dec Wonderful artwork. Very moving. C.M.M., M’bro
2 Dec Very interesting exhibition. C. Thompson, S/TON
4 Dec What a fantastic artist. Thanks so much. SR, Kent
5 Dec Great exhibition. I loved the diversity of his work. Great that he was a ‘local lad’ too! Had never heard of him prior to this exhibition, so thanks for introducing him. V. Monaghan
6 Dec Great exhibition. I’ve lived in Middlesbrough for nearly 60 years and never heard of David Mulholland!! How sad is this!! Reminds me that this area and its people are worth something. I wonder what’s on at MIMA? (do I care?) (I should)
7 Dec Had memories of Mr Mulholland from Gillbrook. Always knew he had a special talent, but he never showed it to the extent of this as a teacher, but did encourage a love of art. Thanks for displaying this exhibition. Great to see the real artist, and not just the teacher.
7 Dec I enjoyed the exhibition. It was very good, and nice to us. Thank you.
8 Dec We enjoyed the gallery and we really liked the pictures, and we liked the entrance’s painting. It looks a tiny bit scary, but very good.
8 Dec It was good. From Jack
9 Dec Exhibition of David Mulholland – excellent. I was one of his pupils at Gillbrook (left 1989) Talented teacher and artist. C. Pink (nee Calvert)
9 Dec Good of David Mulholland. I was one of his pupils at Gilbrook. Kirsty
9 Dec Exhibition is very good. Insighting. J. Carroll
12 Dec My name is Ryan Foster age 19 and I love it sooo much!! So exciting.
15 Dec Deeply moving exhibition. Proud to be from Teesside. Peter Hewitt
15 Dec Great. Robert from Grudziadz, Poland.
15 Dec I think it is excellent. James O’Connor age 11
18 Dec Some very powerful work here. I enjoyed it immensely. Brian B
18 Dec Very meaningful about Teesside. Why don’t we know more about our local artists?
18 Dec Very powerful, an artist who never forgot his people. Khadim Hussain.
19 Dec Wonderful exhibition. Stunning variation of great art. BS
20 Dec Woman in the Room, Princess Alice is my favourite. Cool! A.J. Garrett (Peg Powler)
20 Dec Enjoyed it, really! Rebecca Little (Peg Powler)
20 Dec A very powerful and emotional exhibition. A detailed social history of Middlesbrough during this period! Enjoyed it immensely. Anne Readman
20 Dec Memories of Princess Alice pub. Rings so true – and so disturbing. Geoff Readman, Classmate/Cromwell Road School.
20 Dec Very ‘live’ pictures – great. DRC
20 Dec Very powerful indeed.
20 Dec Very strong drawings. Like the black/white pastels. Early paintings, very competently executed. Pity he wasn’t more well-known and appreciated. How can Tracy Emin get where she is with so little talent and David Mulholland be virtually unknown. There is no justice!! Stu (London but from Darlington)
22 Dec David showed great skills and drama. Enjoyable and worth viewing. Silvia, Hartlepool
22 Dec Me and Dad enjoyed looking at most of the work.
23 Dec Me dad and Amy enjoyed looking at the paintings on the wall. Hannah W. Seman
23 Dec I love it. Amy
23 Dec It’s real – Cleveland/Northern reality (the opposite of BBC South East)
23 Dec Very good, especially the Night swimming portraits. Stephen
27 Dec Lots of artistic memories on canvas. Excellent. Stephen Skelton
27 Dec What a pleasant surprise to come across this exhibition. Thank you Dorman Museum. Kath, Middlesbrough
27 Dec What an amazing and thought provoking display. Did he ever stop painting? MT, Sheffield now, born in Bolkow St. 1948.
28 Dec Awesome, especially Moors Railway Station. Marci Oncale (Texas, USA) and Debs Brereton.
29 Dec Outstanding – a well-curated showcase of a wonderful talent. FD
29 Dec Amazing and wonderful exhibition. LO Fender, was Cromwell Road now North Yorks.
29 Dec Great to show the kids some “Real” art!
2 Jan It’s a pity that these paintings are not on permanent view at Mima! What a wide variety. You could visit again and again.
2 Jan Awesome Artworks. Donna Crossley-Knight, Mission Bay, New Zealand
2 Jan I really liked it. 5 star rating.
2 Jan Quite good. Some drawings seemed really dark. Liked the poppy pictures. S. Meek
2 Jan Girl in the night surf was a fabulous picture. M. Terry
3 Jan Brilliant: should be at Mima. It is modern, relevant and inspiring! Well done for having it here as a real part of the community.
3 Jan Very good.
3 Jan Emotional, jaw dropping and pleasant around the edges. Love it! Some smashing pieces.
4 Jan Very good. I shall return
4 Jan Very impressed.
4 Jan An old teacher of mine at Gillbrook 1987–92. Amazing to see his work. It’s a shame we didn’t see some of this work to inspire us. Very impressive work and early bio. Surprise, and good to see it now.
4 Jan Same here but 78-83. Wonderful man who inspired many kids. Never realised how good he really was.
5 Jan Liked. Happy and sad.
5 Jan Boring.
5 Jan Truly inspiring.
6 Jan Amazing exhibition. What a painter! How unbelievable his talent was as a child. Genius! Well done Tom. My favourite is Eston Hills
6 Jan Well done on putting this all together Tom! Really lovely work, and interesting to see his journey in life including political, scenery etc. Nice touch to see his art box too. Excellent. See Ya. Gary Sanders
15 Jan Tugs at the heartstrings – brilliant.
16 Jan Underestimated! Brooding, yet painfully put together. He had visions!!
17 Jan Fantastic artwork. I really enjoyed it.
17 Jan Very good and interesting. Marky Moore age 6 (Brambles School)
18 Jan An undervalued talent by all the wrong people, but the real people knew how good he was. Who needs Mima. CMT
19 Jan As far as my view, I really enjoyed the visit of that extraordinary place.
19 Jan Fantastic exhibition depicting life amongst industry, and the community that grew up around it. As a South Bank lad, it was particularly good to see paintings of the town. Tosh Warwick
19 Jan Spectacular art work. Very interesting. Daniel Warwick
19 Jan I particularly loved the Danby one.
19 Jan Lovely art work. Love the Danby one.
20 Jan Very good exhibition. Thank you!
20 Jan A true portrait of Middlesbrough – dark and dull and hard working at times.
23 Jan Pnybybem zoborlytem I ocenrntem 5/5. Alan Menusz
24 Jan `We all enjoyed the exhibition. It was lovely. Bramble Lodge Care Home
24 Jan We all enjoyed the museum and exhibition. It was very nice. Falhi Abughuffa and my children (Mohaned and Safia)
24 Jan This is brill. Dominic
24 Jan Lovely pictures. Kidh
26 Jan An outstanding collection. Remarkable pictures by a remarkable man. Rob Griffin
26 Jan Didn’t realise he was so talented. A wonderful exhibition. His family must be proud. Alison Brown, an ex-colleague of David’s from Gillbrook
27 Jan It was boring.
29 Jan Very good.
29 Jan What a fantastic exhibition. David had a great vision. He has put a lot of himself in these paintings. He knows his subject; he is part of the thing. Terry Westwood
29 Jan Another punching experience.
1 Feb Great talent. Dee W
1 Feb I brought my two children to see the exhibition; both were enthralled and very much enjoyed the experience.
1 Feb Challenging experience, much appreciated. What a complex talent. DC
2 Feb I knew of David from my early school career at Victoria Street as he paid a visit to the after-school art class. He said ‘hello’ but I still remember it even after 46 years. His memory lives on through his art, thank God! John S.
2 Feb Really enjoyed the art work. D. Stirling
2 Feb Very good. Andre Tabianilzi
2 Feb It was beautiful and colourful.
2 Feb I loved it. Joseph Mitchell
3 Feb I thought these paintings are very interesting. Eve Lynas
3 Feb Have Gillbrook School been invited to view this? I feel it would inspire many young South Bank pupils. Sad to read of his premature death. A great character. Thank you for acknowledging his talent. Ex-colleague – A. McCann
5 Feb Thank you to the people who have worked very hard to get David’s work exhibited. Knew David when he lived in Ellerby and had the occasional drink in The Runswick Bay pub. Eileen Whittingham
5 Feb One of the best exhibitions I have seen in a long time. Captured memories from my family and places they knew, people they were; even though I had never known any of their work lifes etc.
6 Feb Excellent exhibition. Brought back a lot of memories of the man. Went to the art college at the same time as DM. Thanks.
6 Feb It is very difficult to underestimate the power art can have to express/explain the vitality of what goes on around us all. David’s eyes were very open to subtle nuances of behaviour, of dress and his environment, through which his own and, consequently, our lives have been so succinctly enriched by his very dogged pursuit to record his feelings in his work. I am thankful for that.
6 Feb Fantastic shining light of Teesside, Royal College of Art and South Bank in the same breath. Amazing. Jay Tee (Director)
7 Feb Enjoyed the pictures and story of David Mulholland, Kath Spain (Chester)
7 Feb A brilliant record of industrial Teesside. Anthony McNicholas
7 Feb Wonderful selection of Mulholland’s work. Very refreshing and inspired. S. Rooney
8 Feb Wonderful paintings. One reminds me of a friend. My favourite is ‘Untitled – painted at the time of the Gulf War’.
8 Feb I don’t like this exhibition. Please change it.
9 Feb All the world’s a critic. I love it.
9 Feb Very good exhibition. Michelle Flynn
9 Feb Naomi, Rebecca, Jacob and Leona were here and thought the exhibition was SHAMAZING!!
9 Feb What an intimate set of drawings and paintings. He had a great emotional attachment to this place. He had a great sense of place and a talent to convey it. J.P., York
9 Feb Amazing, work of great character. Capturing the heart and soul of the surroundings. Brilliant. John Beals.
9 Feb I don’t understand half of them. There’s one with a blob of paint. How is that ‘amazing’? I could do it.
9 Feb Some really nice pictures.
9 Feb I loved it and my favourite of Danby, 1961. P Morrison
9 Feb My favourite is Smithie Rules OK. C. Morrison
They are very nice paintings. M. Millward
Cool
Fascinating man, and even more, greater life.
A life’s work. Fantastic. K. Stephenson
Here once again to look at this amazing work. Janet Jeffrey
David’s pictures are so alive!! Enjoyed it immensely. I’ll be back.
Very Inspirational. Violeta Korena, Greece; Tatyana Zhekova, Dobrich, Bulgaria
10 Feb These are a very nice exhibition. I like it so much. Zainab and Hosam
10 Feb Very Good. More please. Leslie Reynolds
12 Feb Great to see more work by a Teesside artist, amazing/interesting breadth of subject matter and mediums. “Graham Smith”? is this the documentary photographer? Joseph White
12 Feb Puts Mima to shame.
13 Feb Brings back the days. Marty
13 Feb We enjoyed our day. Very good. West View Projects, Hartlepool
13 Feb Another South Bank lad who did well. Memories are nice to see. S. Banker
14 Feb Well worth a visit. I’ll come again.
14 Feb Absolutely breath-taking artist and exhibition. Wonderful ability to capture essence and context despite a seemingly primitive style. LET YOUR MIND LINGER.
15 Feb Totally agree with this (above). The people in pubs, oh they are so real … the political comments – (Thatcher and jobs massacre) Bosnia, Macmillan – brilliantly poignant/savage! Landscapes – some ‘straightforward’ looking, others full of love and humanity. THIS IS WHAT ART IS FOR. Alan T
15 Feb Excellent exhibition. I could linger all day looking at these fantastic paintings. Anne
15 Feb Thoroughly enjoyable exhibition. So much more interesting because he is a local artist. Judith
15 Feb Lily said it is awesome. Lily Grace Horner
15 Feb Very good paintings.
15 Feb Mint. Alice
15 Feb My old art teacher – Good work Mr Mulholland!
17 Feb A total surprise. An artist of real vision, and a local Renaissance man. Work that is profound and moving. Thanks to Derek, another local artist, for bringing me here. Well done Middlesbrough Art Gallery staff. C. Goodwin, Cambridge
17 Feb It was awesome but could do with something for little children, like drawing.
17 Feb He was my teacher (Gillbrook School). Great teacher in art and in life. Excellent work. Genuine man.
17 Feb Cool.
17 Feb Good artist.
19 Feb David’s work is inspirational and very emotive.
19 Feb Very good work. I liked! L Thorpe, age 40
19 Feb Very interesting paintings, specially the Smithie Rules OK. GJ – age 8
19 Feb I like it. Grace Johnston, age 5
19 Feb I liked every one. Emma Gray, age 8
19 Feb When I came in, the first picture was graffiti. When I had another look around the room, there was a colourful picture of trees and hills. This really inspired me. Great work. Lily, 9
19 Feb Great work, dark with a sense of humour.
19 Feb All the art stuff was amazing. Josy Miller
19 Feb Some very nice paintings
20 Feb Very Meaningful paintings.
20 Feb Very colourful and cool.
20 Feb Lovely pictures.
20 Feb Art work was inspiring.
20 Feb Very good work. I am inspired. Siobhan Miller
20 Feb We did like the head, or the exhibit known as ‘at the dentist’.
21 Feb A group from Dolly Mixtures ,Middlesbrough, came and looked at the paintings. There are lots of different styles and my favourite is the one from Ian Macdonald. Maisie Woodcock
21 Feb It is amazing
21 Feb Enjoyed very much. Interesting to read about David Mulholland too. We always enjoy coming to this room. Some great art work. J. Pickering, E. Pickering and P. Wilson
I liked the ‘At the Dentist’ sculpture. Rebecca Sykes, aged 11
All really interesting. My favourite is ‘Girl in the Night Surf’. Ella, aged 14
Great display of ‘light and dark’ moods.
Great exhibition. V. Clay (42)
Really enjoyable exhibition. Amy, aged 28
I like it, because the pictures are great. Isabel Russell, aged 6
My favourite is the graffiti wall ‘Smithie rules OK’. T Rose, aged 10
Thought provoking and stimulating experience. Well done. Steven B, 30 yrs
Boro Boot Boys, great. Harry Twohy, aged 19
I like it.
It was good.
It was great … REALLY INTERESTING.
The pictures were amazing. I loved them. Thank you.
FANTASTIC! Thanks for showing his work. M
Best exhibition I’ve ever seen in Boro!
An unrecognised national treasure.
It is a very interesting exhibition even though the dentist thing and the head above water was kind of freaky! Timu
I think that it was very inspiring and wanting me do more art. David Mulholland is an amazing painter and it is hard to believe that he has drawn all of these as well as painting. It is an amazing exhibition and I would like to come again. Ava
It was cool. The dentist thing was strange. It looked like my brother. Loved it. Megan, 10
It was very interesting looking at all the art. Kirsten 7
It was very interesting looking at the different art work displayed. Jessica
Nice oil pastels. Some good paintings. Mint old cigarettes. Olivia
The cigarettes were very interesting. William
I liked the paintings, they were very interesting. Thomas James King, age 4 ¾
Emotional. Loved it. Dorothy Glass and Paul Perceval
Super ekstra ngstawy. Najlepsa na I pectize.
Nice to see work from a local artist.
Brilliant displays.
Nice to see an artist’s work from our area. Brings back memories of youth. Different styles of work – interesting – very enjoyable.
Some great work. Josie
Enjoyed the art gallery. Jessica
David Mulholland was my art teacher at Gillbrook School. What a joy to see his work on the wall. Fantastic.
An excellent collection of the North East. Amazing. D Brown, 47
Rubbish. Horrible stuff.
Great to see a fab local artist’s work.
2 Mar This room is good but could be more exciting for children.
3 Mar Plenty of other rooms for children. Paintings are for adults.
3 Mar Atmospheric weather and local scenes. Fantastic.
3 Mar Nice paintings. Grace RO
3 Mar I liked the Teddy Bear picture. Fab u lus. M Millward
3 Mar Enjoyed exhibition as I lived in South Bank in the late 60s. Thanks Dave.
6 Mar Very good and interesting
6 Mar. I like the man who is at the dentist. Very good.
6 Mar Wonderful! What a talent. The ‘Thanks for nothing’ painting sums up the Thatcher years.
6 Mar Thought provoking.
7 Mar ‘Thanks for Nothing’? Sums up everything in this country now. Enid, Ralph and Ian
7 Mar Old Station Master’s House was my old playground on Station Road, South Bank. RH
7 Mar Enjoyed having a drink with him.
8 Mar Such a story of the era and place. Amazing!
8 Mar To think that people actually painted these picture. Anonymous
10 Mar Wonderful work. Amazing insight into the area. As usual artist never got recognised until too late. Love his work. Sheila Middleton, Norton
10 Mar It was very good
10 Mar Good.
10 Mar Love the museum but myself and the children were highly disappointed that the ‘electric + water’ display had been taken away for an art exhibition that is more at home in ‘MIMA’ !!!
It was good and exciting.
Highly amused. Half paintings looked like something from Shaun of the Dead.
He was my mam’s art teacher from secondary school. RY from Redcar
LOL, The person with their fingers in their ears of “Thanks 4 Nothing’ made me laugh.
17 Mar Yes – yes – yes. Delicious.
17 Mar Magnificent.
17 Mar I like his paintings.
17 Mar He was a very good friend and I know he would have been really pleased at this exhibition. Paul Menliss (friend of DM)
Aaron Peacock and Heather Macqueen really enjoyed looking at the paintings.
Really nice paintings.
He was my art teacher.
21 Mar Reminds me of my youth in Liverpool. Excellent art. Stephen Donnely, lives in Middlesbrough, originally from Liverpool
22 Mar David Mulholland is an amazing artist. EH
23 Mar Really good and scary sometimes but really interesting and enjoying. Really loved it but maybe should add a little sunshine or lights. It’s just a tiny bit scary but really good all round. Loved it a lot.
23 Mar Super good!
23 Mar Cool. Love it!!
23 Mar A fabulous collection of paintings. What an amazing and incredibly clever artist. L. Blenkinsopp
23 Mar I loved it. All of the painting was unique. Anonymous
24 Mar I loved all of it. Poppy
24 Mar Ashamedly, I had never come across David Mulholland’s work before. Thank you for allowing access to a collection of beautiful thoughtful works. J. Joy
24 Mar Dave taught me at school and I learnt a lot from him. I went on to do well in my art … thanks Dave. I loved looking at the work/pictures. My favourites are the charcoal and pencil pictures of the blast furnaces.
24 Mar Love the exhibition, the teddy bear picture is great, and all the nature paintings are lovely. Molly Brown and Dad
24 Mar I like the ‘at the dentist’s head thing. LOL.
24 Mar Very good. We liked looking at all the different art work. David Mulholland is an excellent artist. My favourites are pool player, man in bar and woman in the room – Princess Alice. Beeri Dimitri
24 Mar I liked the teddy bear painting that was painted in the gulf war, H Ha lol. Eric Kenshlaugen Hoffman
24 Mar They are good paintings. Erin, aged 8.
24 Mar I loved the teddy picture. It was AWESOME!
24 Mar Fabulous paintings. My Dad was a RDL man.
24 Mar Must be one of the most impressive and important shows of work by an artist staged in Middlesbrough for long enough. Well done Dorman Museum!! Alan Morley
27 Mar Fantastic artist. Was impressed by his exhibition at the old art gallery in the ‘70s and seeing his work again reminds me of just how brilliant he was. Lovely companion, great company, even greater artist. Colin Adamson
27 Mar Seems an unassuming man who has shared his talents with others Nice to see a range of people have enjoyed his work. But well done for bringing them together – lovely range and variety and some lovely vibrant scenes stand out among the more serious paintings. A very very talented and obviously thoughtful young man. Enjoyed this immensely. Such variety.
28 Mar Very good. C Quinn
28 Mar All of the pictures are epic, especially the steel mill one – it is very detailed.
30 Mar It is a good art room but the graffiti picture looks like it was done by a bunch of naughty kids. But there is some good art work – creative and things.
1 Apr We visited Dorman’s on Monday 1st April. We liked the pictures. April fool. K.K. and G.
1 Apr I liked looking at the art. Lillie, aged 8
1 Apr Dave was my old art teacher. Good fun to teach us art. Claire Middleton nee Millward.
2 Apr Very interesting
2 Apr Really amazing!
2 Apr Weird pictures.
2 Apr It has been on a long time. Change it please.
4 Apr It was fun. We enjoyed it. Aminah and Adam
4 Apr Should do things like artists more often
4 Apr My 10 year old son really enjoyed this exhibition, especially the steelworks paintings.
4 Apr My favourite is the one of Danby. Lucy
4 Apr Clean. Lovely paintings. Brill. Norma
5 Apr Memories of South Bank where I lived 1949–69. What a wonderful collection. J. Campbell
5 Apr Excellent exhibition. Grandchildren thought some of the paintings were creepy because one of the painting’s eyes kept following them. I loved them.
5 Apr I liked the painting of Moors Railway Station.
5 Apr Great free-spirited stuff – but a dark palette!
5 Apr My favourite one is the Night Swim: Head above Water. P. Ouvia
6 Apr I liked the one loaned by Len Tabner, because it is in Middlesbrough and it shows how much you can do with a pencil
6 Apr I like this exhibition. You could do a tour about it.
6 Apr Really fun. Really enjoyed looking at all the art. Don’t get how a pack of cigarettes is ‘amazing art’, but really fun. I’ll give it a 4+. Well done.
I really enjoyed David Mulholland’s art exhibition. I especially liked ‘Postcards from Ellerby’ and ‘Father and daughter watching a lively tide on an orange night’. FW
David Mulholland, Painter, you were a dream. Sleep well. Love you.
Beautiful work. So sad he is no longer with us. Such a great talent. Jean N.
David Mulholland is a great painter and the Margaret Thatcher one is good because it shows how horrid she was and, since she only died recently, it is convenient. Emily Hannah Willet
9 Apr Paintings are art at the highest. It was very good work. Samuel Stephenson, age 6
These are no good. That is my opinion
Very good. Aliyaf
10 Apr Wonderful. A great painter. The ‘Thanks for Nothing’ sums up the area.
Absolutely beautiful work. Love this museum so much. Can’t get better babe; ah ah, Beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, amazing. Charlotte (n) Pippa
Beautiful art work. Well done!!!
Amazing. Well done. Something for everybody.
Good art work. Much better than MIMA!!!
Brill. Cool. Fab. Great. Epic. WOW.
Much better than MIMA but I reckon I could do better.
Nice art work. I think they are modern.
I like the paintings. GM Askins
12 Apr Bought a book of his paintings and this is how I discovered David Mulholland. It has been a real pleasure to see this exhibition of his paintings. Well worth the trip from Burton-on-Trent
12 Apr I am very pleased that my daughter came up from Burton-on-Trent and has introduced me to this inspirational artist. Jean Saville
13 Apr Work here is inspirational. G Spensley, Art student
13 Apr Lovely and simple. CCAD students
I knew Dave from the Prince, South Bank. A fine artist and down-to-earth man. Typical Slaggy Island bloke. Great show. RIP Dave. KB
16 Apr At last a local lad comes home. It’s taken far too long. Well done to all involved and especially Pete McCarthy for driving the whole project. A. Spence
16 Apr We loved it. Jayden
18 Apr Very enlightening. Good to have an exhibition by a local artist.
18 Apr Interesting – didn’t think it would be. Tommy
Too much black. Some interesting paintings. Is very sad. JJ
Imaginative interpretation of scenery and atmosphere of the area. A southern observer, PM Jones
20 Apr Hadn’t heard of David Mulholland until I came here. Very impressed, captured by the atmosphere of the Prince, South Bank. This is my second visit to the exhibition, will no doubt come again. Thanks to all concerned for making it possible to show these locally for a local man. Well done. Elaine and Terry
20 Apr David Mulholland brought back a lot of nostalgia for my sister and I. We knew a lot of the area. Pam Peresa
25 Apr He taught me at school and did not inspire me at all. Was too busy drinking wine and smoking. Just let the kids mess about and throw paint a each other. He really could not be bothered. It’s a shame when I see that he was a fairly good artist that he did not at least inspire the kids he was supposed to teach
26 Apr In a word – superb and a master class.
26 Apr Incredibly moving.
26 Apr Amazing art work – really touching. Captures the emotion of that point in time.
26 Apr Immediate and essential.
27 Apr Great. Very enjoyable.
27 Apr Really good paintings here. Really enjoyed it. I also liked the abstract painting. DJL
27 Apr Extremely inspiring – your old mate Brian Smith.
27 Apr Very good work. Keep it up, up there. Robbie and Margaret, Redcar
5 May I like every picture in this room. Joseph Atkinson
5 May It is great to see works of art that were influenced by my home country – Nigeria. C. Anyeagbina
Dave taught me in the 80s. I was ‘difficult’ at school and Dave saw me sat in the isolation room. He gave me ideas; I drew what he called ‘social realism’. He eventually persuaded me to apply to art college: they let me in (with no A-levels). I still paint, occasionally. Dave gave me a huge black and white photo of skinheads at a concert, he took and developed, now lost to my ex-wife. His input meant a lot to me – kept me out of ‘trouble’ – and I’m so pleased his work is now being recognised. He is one of the North’s greatest artists and humanitarians. ‘Thanks sir’. Jeff Lillystone
One of the finest teachers at school in Gillbrook. Laidback back beyond belief. I have never drawn anything as good since his class. G. Fleming
A very powerful exhibition of work by a very gifted artist. I know artists who have clearly been influenced by his work. Alan W
Brilliant work. C. Hammersley
Awesome bro! DM Jones
I don’t like it … I love it. Dina Hassan, age 9
The art work was astonishing. It was fantastic. LOVE IT. Seanan Glasby, Age 11
12 May Visited our cousin’s (David) exhibition for the second time. His work is known to us but some show us just how versatile he was. An original Teesside artist, in a class of his own He used to say he bought a house opposite the Coke ovens, on Normanby Road, because ‘if you see the smoke billowing, it means there is work!’ Norma Smith (Normanby) Wendy Philpot (South Bank) and Julie Fitzgerald (Newcastle)
A great exhibition. God Bless David!
18 May Brilliant exhibition. What a great painter and capturer of people, society and emotions. Stunning.
18 May Another great great Teessider. So glad to have the opportunity to see this collection of work. Nathan
Brilliant. Very atmospheric and wonderfully evocative of times.
Great exhibition – very powerful– makes me proud of this area, a sense of what has really gone on in the lives that have lived here, something more beautiful because it struggled with the struggles. The paintings seem dark but the head that produced them holds the light. B. Dee
A fantastic exhibition – very moving and a powerful records of life in the North. I particularly liked the limited pallete work. This would make a wonderful permanent exhibition or, perhaps, efforts could be made to hang it at the Pannet (Whitby) for a while. Gail Hurst, Port Mulgrave
Brilliant exhibition. What a fantastic talent. How wonderful to see such moving art – in total contrast to the rubbish constantly exhibited at MIMA.
Brilliant art from the North.
All good pictures and this is my dad’s art teacher, and it is fantastic.
Very good exhibition. Isabelle Turton
I liked it. Alex Ainsley
It is amazing!!!!. Isabel Caron Harbor
I thought that the art work was amazing. Demi
Excellent. Inspires the children to draw and use their imagination.
Amazing. Niall Taylor and Catherine Taylor
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Linthorpe Rd, Middlesbrough
October 2012 – June 2013
David Mulholland, Painter
These comments are drawn from the Comments Book that was left at the Dorman Museum during the exhibition of David Mulholland’s work. The comments are as written, albeit with some spelling corrections and drawings (smiley faces for instance) have been excluded. Some of the comments were signed but signatures were occasionally difficult to decipher. I have included those where I had some confidence that I had interpreted them correctly: no doubt, there are instances where my confidence was misplaced. In some cases, I have opted to use the initials only. A few comments were written in a foreign language: I have done my best to approximate them. Most people dated their comments but occasionally they did not but dates can be construed, because the comments are of course sequential.
Inevitably, given the location of the book and the exhibition, some comments were really about the museum in general, rather than specifically about the exhibition. I have excluded such comments along with those from kids taking advantage of the availability of pen and paper. I am sure they found their work amusing. Some of it I never saw because obscenities were removed by museum staff.
I think it is amazing that, even after exclusions, almost 500 people took the time to share with us their feelings about the exhibition; some did so in a few words but others went to some length to express how they were impressed by the quality of the work and/or emotionally moved by its power. Those who made comments come from a broad spectrum. They are mostly local – some who knew David well but others who didn’t know of him at all – but quite a few were from elsewhere in the UK, and several were from overseas. There was a wide age range too, and the number of astute comments made by young children – in some cases very young children – is particularly impressive. A very few comments were negative and, on grounds of balance, I have included them here, The vast majority of comments were, however, overwhelmingly positive, capturing considerable enthusiasm for David Mulholland’s work.
I am grateful to the staff of Dorman’s for looking after the comments book during the exhibition, especially with regard to constantly replacing the pens that went missing.
Pete McCarthy
From the exhibition comments book
9 Oct Absolutely amazing exhibition (fabulous).
9 Oct Congratulations to all concerned. Dave M. would be amazed. His work is worthy of this exhibition. Lis Scotson – formerly Evening Gazette (now in BC, Canada) interviewed Dave M. in 1971
9 Oct Great night, great exhibition, great painter. Robin Humphrey, Durham
10 Oct Dave – for one happy hour, you came back to life. Peter Marsh
10 Oct Dave’s love for his local area shines through. I was very touched.
10 Oct Beautiful exhibition, Dave. Les Brunskill
10 Oct Not one of the greatest but one of the best.
10 Oct I am sure you followed me around, Dave. Brilliant exhibition and book. Thanks to all concerned. Keith
11 Oct Wonderful. Pete Mc
11 Oct Ya call this art? YES, very much so. AG
11 Oct Powerful images. Fond memories of Dave from Gillbrook. Great legacy from a memorable man. Jeff Moulder
11 Oct Brief memories of him at Runswick. What a character. Kevin O’Byrne
11 Oct I find the painting done at the age of 13, BLOODY FANTASTIC – the scale, colour and composition – it is really exceptionally beautiful. T. Powell
12 Oct Brings back memories of Dave ¬ a talented and controversial, one-off guy. Gillbrook colleagues: Linda Thompson, Margaret Walpole, Dfenane Watkins, Marillyn Henderson, Hazel Clarke
12 Oct Bless you Dave. 6 eggs again!!!! Your second mam. Dot xxx
12 Oct Brings back many memories of Dave – a talented and controversial one-off guy. Gillbrook colleagues
12 Oct Good memories of Cromwell Road School (1951 – 57) and then in the 60s around South Bank and Normanby. Exhibition a long time coming but well worth the wait. Ian Ford
12 Oct It is rubbish.
12 Oct Some great art.
14 Oct It was very interesting. Amy Rose-Brown
14 Oct A moving experience. I really liked the ‘Lively Tide’ picture.
14 Oct It is very good. Thank you.
14 Oct Some good art and it was very clever. I loved the painting Danby. I liked the 3D effect. Emily Hannah
16 Oct Wonderful art. Very clever boy and local lad. JC
16 Oct Good local lad. Brilliant.
16 Oct Lovely hang. Congratulations. Ian and Sue Mack
16 Oct I have fond memories of being taught by Mr Mulholland at Gillbrook School. Nice to be reminded of his lovely landscapes of the area. About time his work was exhibited together. K. Lewis MA
16 Oct Fantastic, excellent exhibition. Well done, all concerned for bringing local talent to the town.
16 Oct Very striking but I fail to see ‘The Night Shift’. Roger C
16 Oct ‘Girl in Night Surf’ – extraordinary painting.
17 Oct Supa Dupa. Love the ‘Piggy Back’. MC
17 Oct Dave is a major Teesside talent and deserves recognition, as this splendid exhibition shows. MH
17 Oct I enjoyed this exhibition. My children and I feel the most interesting/enjoyable picture is ‘Untitled – Painted at time of the Gulf War’. Poppy is meaningful to the family. A talented artist. Well done.
18 Oct He was a really nice man and this shows through all his work. A pleasure to meet you again, Mulholland. He was so gifted that, in a way, he struggled with his own talent. But it was there all right.
18 Oct Very thought provoking stuff, so much of his work in one place. Well done everyone involved.
18 Oct Fabulous.
18 Oct Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!!!
19 Oct A real artist, with heart, soul and talent. So uncommercial – unlike some.
19 Oct Excellent exhibition. Well worth a visit. Should be shown at Mima.
19 Oct Excellent exhibition. A truly talented artist. Will come back to see again. Should be in national gallery but leave it here so local people can see what a truly talented man from humble beginnings can achieve. Marvellous!!
19 Oct Very powerful. Interesting. Wonderful. A painter of his time. A great artist. J and K Lawson.
20 Oct Dave had a unique talent, with a gift for capturing Social History. John C
20 Oct Good work. R. Harrington
20 Oct Very rewarding. WT
20 Oct Exciting
20 Oct Makes you think. Very good indeed. JCG
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20 Oct I was also taught by Tom Dalton at Victoria Street, then Sarah Metcalfe. He was an inspiration to us all. I knew Dave well in the early 70s and this exhibition brings him to life, with fond memories of paintings stored behind my mam’s sofa in South Bank. Rest in peace Dave. Barbara Anderson
23 Oct Some really inspiring pieces of work. I love the textures and tones he created. Will return for another look soon.
25 Oct A bit gloomy.
25 Oct A very talented man (very good). C. Blakeman
25 Oct I knew Dave very well, and liked all his work.
25 Oct An appropriate retrospective selection, showing experimentation with different styles and media, often rooted in local environment and experience. Some pieces are simplistic but some deserve repeated viewing. The most successful merit wider recognition that this exhibition should help achieve. Rob Johnson
25 Oct Really impressive. This artist deserves wider recognition. Why are local artists not shown more at Mima? Hugo Pollock
26 Oct Missy (aged 4) liked ’Father and daughter watching a lively tide on an orange night’. Jason (aged 6) liked ‘Sawmill Creek; Wassi, Nigeria’. I believe dedication to Middlesbrough and Cleveland’s local artists is a huge thing and showing these art works is paramount to local well-being. All pieces were stunning. How about a Tom Wall exhibition?
26 Oct Loved it. ‘Thanks’. Enjoyed the book so much. Wish I could stay longer ‘Well done’. I agree with the Tom Wall idea. Thanks so much. Mackenzie
26 Oct This is epic. Leon
26 Oct Being born on Teesside (Middlesbrough). An awful lot of his paintings bring it all back to life. The excitement, dirt and hardship of 50 years ago. Exciting and a thrill to walk around the gallery. I still live here and sure feel proud to be part of this exhibition.
27 Oct It was good and amusing. I am glad I came! My granddad enjoyed it too.
27 Oct It was fun to see how David Mulholland was a very good painter. WAHOO! Charles
27 Oct A very varied, interesting exhibition. Much enjoyed. Thank you.
27 Oct Bringing to life my past and present. Wonderful. Anne and Bob
28 Oct He has brought a lot of my feelings for my area to life. Well done indeed.
28 Oct Best teacher I ever had. So sorry to see he did not enjoy his time at Gillbrook. When now I see his work I can understand why. I would love to see that picture he was doing in the art room at the time he was teaching me. Mark Goodwin
28 Oct Awesome.
28 Oct Nice paintings and drawings.
28 Oct Zac (aged 11 years) really liked some of the paintings. Glad we came.
28 Oct Range of artwork could have been more varied. It was a tad too dark. That said, however. It is a nice display of local artwork. I enjoyed it.
30 Oct A fantastic exhibition. Put together like this I could really appreciate his talent. Well done! An inspiring collection, and well put together. Samantha
30 Oct A wonderful exhibition. Very moving.
30 Oct A fabulous collection. Wonderful memories. Josie Lawrence
30 Oct Mint paintings. Elena
30 Oct Excellent work. S. Meek
30 Oct I love it. It is so awesome. I love the effort. Well done. Nicole
31 Oct Who says art has to be cheerful? We spent a long time looking at these dark evocative paintings. Fab! Sarah Gunson, Harry aged 9, Jude aged 8
31 Oct Think it was a fantastic room. It was great. Jacqueline, Craig, Erin and Ethan
31 Oct It was good but I didn’t get the names of the drawings. I liked the head.
31 Oct It was epic.
31 Oct I loved it. It was cool. I wouldn’t change a thing. My favourite part was Danby. It was fan-tast-ic. I would give it five stars.
31 Oct I really didn’t get the weird names you gave them, like Smithie rules OK. I really don’t think the names go well, and in your painting it looked like you were scribbling
1 Nov I liked his paint work.
1 Nov Too much old, not enough new modern art.
1 Nov Fantastic exhibition. Arinkaki
2 Nov ‘Danby’ is my favourite. Takudzwa
2 Nov ‘Monday’ was my favourite. Francis
2 Nov It was mint.
2 Nov Wonderful. I felt him and his feelings. Gary
2 Nov Very nice paintings. Very interesting.
3 Nov The old station master’s house in South Bank. I played in that when I was a child. Great illustration of this. Well done. Mr S, Ingleby Barwick
3 Nov Great art work. Jordan Hyland Waldon, aged 11
3 Nov Great work. Jon Forbes
3 Nov Inspiring exhibition. Amazing. Georgia Forbes
8 Nov Bought the book. Paintings are inspirational, full of energy and movement. Nicola and Janet Jeffrey (mam and daughter) from South Bank
8 Nov Wow! Why didn’t I know about David Mulholland before? Such quiet power and a great fondness for Teesside. Everyone should come and see this exhibition. Jim Colwell
9 Nov Nathan and Terry and John was here. Some good paintings. Very good indeed.
9 Nov Never heard of David Mulholland before – a fantastic talent – brought back many memories of my early life in Teesside, especially in the Princess Alice.
10 Nov It was great. I come here every week and I never get tired of it. I love doing art, and being around great art like this makes me feel great and that I can improve on my work to get me as good as one of these. Well, maybe not as good, but I can try. Emily Hannah Willet
11 Nov I think these pictures are outstanding. My favourite is Danby. I think it is lovely. All of them are lovely. Loving it.
11 Nov I loved this exhibition. All of the paintings have inspired me to do some painting at home. Amber Carr
11 Nov It is good with me taking art as my options, and it has given me some ideas for my next one. Thank you. Chantelle Ellis
12 Nov The best exhibition by far that I have ever seen. David Mulholland has to be one of the finest artists to have come from this area. ‘MIMA’ look on and be ashamed at what you are missing.
13 Nov Good show. TG
13 Nov What can you say? What an artist! Surely one of the best countywide. Thanks to Tom, Pete and all concerned for bringing his work to the public. Well done. Joe McLay
14 Nov Some really good work. I particularly liked the sculpture in the glass plinth with the cigarettes inside. WELL DONE. S. Hodgson
16 Nov Came from Wallsend. Well worth the visit. Love all, but love the charcoal and pencil ones the best. Night Swims are my very best. Wonderful. Jacqueline Kerr
16 Nov Amazing paintings; really worth seeing. Beautifully put together. David captures the scene/mood so well. Polly Kerr
16 Nov So glad I came! Love the Night Swim. JM
16 Nov An enjoyable exhibition and interesting take on such artistic painting. DP
17 Nov Good to see a retrospective of a talented local artist. Would be great to see workshops – paintings, poetry – held here to engage with the local community. The stories and history in these paintings needs to be enjoyed with schoolchildren – to create aspiration. Other local artists should be shown here too. This could be an antidote to Mima, which isn’t supportive of local artists. Chris
17 Nov Goose bumps on goose bumps for a ‘humble artist’. Will be back soon to see some more. Plum Leaf
17 Nov So nice to see so many of his works together. Thank you all for your hard work to make this happen. It is nice for everyone who knew Dave to see him getting some well-earned recognition. It may make others sit up and realise what a talent he had. John and Babs McElvaney
18 Nov Stunning real art. I had never heard of David until now, and have greatly enjoyed viewing his work. I will be back for more! Thanks to Dorman Museum for putting on such a great display. Howard Bailey, Middlesbrough
18 Nov Enjoyed the art. Appreciate such a brilliant display. Elly
18 Nov Great exhibiiont. Thoroughly enjoyable.
21 Nov Gritty, down to earth. WOW. SP, Saltburn
22 Nov Excellent exhibition. Thank you. Ann and Terry Whitfield, Barnard Castle
22 Nov Another look around the exhibition – brilliant – each visit, another discovery. C. Forbes
22 Nov The exhibition is well worth seeing. Thank you.
22 Nov Very nice, great exhibition!
22 Nov Great paintings by David Mulholland at such a young age,
23 Nov Marvellous art work. God Bless You. J. Barnes, M’BRO
23 Nov Great Museum, been here with niece and nana. Loved it! Joanne O’Conor
24 Nov Breath-taking art with a heart-breaking story. The variety blew us away. Simon and Emma Merson
24 Nov I love the art here coz it is brilliant. Age 10
24 Nov Boro lad. Captures what it was like. DT
24 Nov Very good. Amazing exhibition.
24 Nov Good! Very different.
25 Nov Different to any painting style I’ve seen. Georgia Magie, age 8
25 Nov I enjoyed the exhibition, very interesting. I want to know more.
25 Nov I enjoyed looking at the different types of paintings and the rest of the museum.
25 Nov I enjoyed looking at these images and looking at the different techniques of painting and drawing.
25 Nov A lovely exhibition of moving art work. What a shame he did not promote himself more.
25 Nov Wonderful exhibition. A.M.P
27 Nov Real beauty.
27 Nov Amazing art work, very skilled and thought provoking. Thanks for bringing it here. D. Hall
28 Nov It is fantastic to see recognition of such a local talent. It brought back fond memories of my time at school when he was my art teacher. The ciggies and the chequebook made me giggle as it was typical of him.
28 Nov Great to see so much of Dave’s art work in one location. Brought back memories of having a pint with Dave on Friday evenings – always an interesting experience. Pete Davies, Marton, Middlesbrough
29 Nov Nice to see Dave recognised. We were in Tom Dalton’s art class together. Good times!! Paul Allan
30 Nov We were on ‘nodding’ terms but I never realised how great an artist he was! Fantastic.
1 Dec Another example of the sheer talent that South Bank breeds: great artists, great sportsmen, great people. Don Chesney
1 Dec Wonderful artwork. Very moving. C.M.M., M’bro
2 Dec Very interesting exhibition. C. Thompson, S/TON
4 Dec What a fantastic artist. Thanks so much. SR, Kent
5 Dec Great exhibition. I loved the diversity of his work. Great that he was a ‘local lad’ too! Had never heard of him prior to this exhibition, so thanks for introducing him. V. Monaghan
6 Dec Great exhibition. I’ve lived in Middlesbrough for nearly 60 years and never heard of David Mulholland!! How sad is this!! Reminds me that this area and its people are worth something. I wonder what’s on at MIMA? (do I care?) (I should)
7 Dec Had memories of Mr Mulholland from Gillbrook. Always knew he had a special talent, but he never showed it to the extent of this as a teacher, but did encourage a love of art. Thanks for displaying this exhibition. Great to see the real artist, and not just the teacher.
7 Dec I enjoyed the exhibition. It was very good, and nice to us. Thank you.
8 Dec We enjoyed the gallery and we really liked the pictures, and we liked the entrance’s painting. It looks a tiny bit scary, but very good.
8 Dec It was good. From Jack
9 Dec Exhibition of David Mulholland – excellent. I was one of his pupils at Gillbrook (left 1989) Talented teacher and artist. C. Pink (nee Calvert)
9 Dec Good of David Mulholland. I was one of his pupils at Gilbrook. Kirsty
9 Dec Exhibition is very good. Insighting. J. Carroll
12 Dec My name is Ryan Foster age 19 and I love it sooo much!! So exciting.
15 Dec Deeply moving exhibition. Proud to be from Teesside. Peter Hewitt
15 Dec Great. Robert from Grudziadz, Poland.
15 Dec I think it is excellent. James O’Connor age 11
18 Dec Some very powerful work here. I enjoyed it immensely. Brian B
18 Dec Very meaningful about Teesside. Why don’t we know more about our local artists?
18 Dec Very powerful, an artist who never forgot his people. Khadim Hussain.
19 Dec Wonderful exhibition. Stunning variation of great art. BS
20 Dec Woman in the Room, Princess Alice is my favourite. Cool! A.J. Garrett (Peg Powler)
20 Dec Enjoyed it, really! Rebecca Little (Peg Powler)
20 Dec A very powerful and emotional exhibition. A detailed social history of Middlesbrough during this period! Enjoyed it immensely. Anne Readman
20 Dec Memories of Princess Alice pub. Rings so true – and so disturbing. Geoff Readman, Classmate/Cromwell Road School.
20 Dec Very ‘live’ pictures – great. DRC
20 Dec Very powerful indeed.
20 Dec Very strong drawings. Like the black/white pastels. Early paintings, very competently executed. Pity he wasn’t more well-known and appreciated. How can Tracy Emin get where she is with so little talent and David Mulholland be virtually unknown. There is no justice!! Stu (London but from Darlington)
22 Dec David showed great skills and drama. Enjoyable and worth viewing. Silvia, Hartlepool
22 Dec Me and Dad enjoyed looking at most of the work.
23 Dec Me dad and Amy enjoyed looking at the paintings on the wall. Hannah W. Seman
23 Dec I love it. Amy
23 Dec It’s real – Cleveland/Northern reality (the opposite of BBC South East)
23 Dec Very good, especially the Night swimming portraits. Stephen
27 Dec Lots of artistic memories on canvas. Excellent. Stephen Skelton
27 Dec What a pleasant surprise to come across this exhibition. Thank you Dorman Museum. Kath, Middlesbrough
27 Dec What an amazing and thought provoking display. Did he ever stop painting? MT, Sheffield now, born in Bolkow St. 1948.
28 Dec Awesome, especially Moors Railway Station. Marci Oncale (Texas, USA) and Debs Brereton.
29 Dec Outstanding – a well-curated showcase of a wonderful talent. FD
29 Dec Amazing and wonderful exhibition. LO Fender, was Cromwell Road now North Yorks.
29 Dec Great to show the kids some “Real” art!
2 Jan It’s a pity that these paintings are not on permanent view at Mima! What a wide variety. You could visit again and again.
2 Jan Awesome Artworks. Donna Crossley-Knight, Mission Bay, New Zealand
2 Jan I really liked it. 5 star rating.
2 Jan Quite good. Some drawings seemed really dark. Liked the poppy pictures. S. Meek
2 Jan Girl in the night surf was a fabulous picture. M. Terry
3 Jan Brilliant: should be at Mima. It is modern, relevant and inspiring! Well done for having it here as a real part of the community.
3 Jan Very good.
3 Jan Emotional, jaw dropping and pleasant around the edges. Love it! Some smashing pieces.
4 Jan Very good. I shall return
4 Jan Very impressed.
4 Jan An old teacher of mine at Gillbrook 1987–92. Amazing to see his work. It’s a shame we didn’t see some of this work to inspire us. Very impressive work and early bio. Surprise, and good to see it now.
4 Jan Same here but 78-83. Wonderful man who inspired many kids. Never realised how good he really was.
5 Jan Liked. Happy and sad.
5 Jan Boring.
5 Jan Truly inspiring.
6 Jan Amazing exhibition. What a painter! How unbelievable his talent was as a child. Genius! Well done Tom. My favourite is Eston Hills
6 Jan Well done on putting this all together Tom! Really lovely work, and interesting to see his journey in life including political, scenery etc. Nice touch to see his art box too. Excellent. See Ya. Gary Sanders
15 Jan Tugs at the heartstrings – brilliant.
16 Jan Underestimated! Brooding, yet painfully put together. He had visions!!
17 Jan Fantastic artwork. I really enjoyed it.
17 Jan Very good and interesting. Marky Moore age 6 (Brambles School)
18 Jan An undervalued talent by all the wrong people, but the real people knew how good he was. Who needs Mima. CMT
19 Jan As far as my view, I really enjoyed the visit of that extraordinary place.
19 Jan Fantastic exhibition depicting life amongst industry, and the community that grew up around it. As a South Bank lad, it was particularly good to see paintings of the town. Tosh Warwick
19 Jan Spectacular art work. Very interesting. Daniel Warwick
19 Jan I particularly loved the Danby one.
19 Jan Lovely art work. Love the Danby one.
20 Jan Very good exhibition. Thank you!
20 Jan A true portrait of Middlesbrough – dark and dull and hard working at times.
23 Jan Pnybybem zoborlytem I ocenrntem 5/5. Alan Menusz
24 Jan `We all enjoyed the exhibition. It was lovely. Bramble Lodge Care Home
24 Jan We all enjoyed the museum and exhibition. It was very nice. Falhi Abughuffa and my children (Mohaned and Safia)
24 Jan This is brill. Dominic
24 Jan Lovely pictures. Kidh
26 Jan An outstanding collection. Remarkable pictures by a remarkable man. Rob Griffin
26 Jan Didn’t realise he was so talented. A wonderful exhibition. His family must be proud. Alison Brown, an ex-colleague of David’s from Gillbrook
27 Jan It was boring.
29 Jan Very good.
29 Jan What a fantastic exhibition. David had a great vision. He has put a lot of himself in these paintings. He knows his subject; he is part of the thing. Terry Westwood
29 Jan Another punching experience.
1 Feb Great talent. Dee W
1 Feb I brought my two children to see the exhibition; both were enthralled and very much enjoyed the experience.
1 Feb Challenging experience, much appreciated. What a complex talent. DC
2 Feb I knew of David from my early school career at Victoria Street as he paid a visit to the after-school art class. He said ‘hello’ but I still remember it even after 46 years. His memory lives on through his art, thank God! John S.
2 Feb Really enjoyed the art work. D. Stirling
2 Feb Very good. Andre Tabianilzi
2 Feb It was beautiful and colourful.
2 Feb I loved it. Joseph Mitchell
3 Feb I thought these paintings are very interesting. Eve Lynas
3 Feb Have Gillbrook School been invited to view this? I feel it would inspire many young South Bank pupils. Sad to read of his premature death. A great character. Thank you for acknowledging his talent. Ex-colleague – A. McCann
5 Feb Thank you to the people who have worked very hard to get David’s work exhibited. Knew David when he lived in Ellerby and had the occasional drink in The Runswick Bay pub. Eileen Whittingham
5 Feb One of the best exhibitions I have seen in a long time. Captured memories from my family and places they knew, people they were; even though I had never known any of their work lifes etc.
6 Feb Excellent exhibition. Brought back a lot of memories of the man. Went to the art college at the same time as DM. Thanks.
6 Feb It is very difficult to underestimate the power art can have to express/explain the vitality of what goes on around us all. David’s eyes were very open to subtle nuances of behaviour, of dress and his environment, through which his own and, consequently, our lives have been so succinctly enriched by his very dogged pursuit to record his feelings in his work. I am thankful for that.
6 Feb Fantastic shining light of Teesside, Royal College of Art and South Bank in the same breath. Amazing. Jay Tee (Director)
7 Feb Enjoyed the pictures and story of David Mulholland, Kath Spain (Chester)
7 Feb A brilliant record of industrial Teesside. Anthony McNicholas
7 Feb Wonderful selection of Mulholland’s work. Very refreshing and inspired. S. Rooney
8 Feb Wonderful paintings. One reminds me of a friend. My favourite is ‘Untitled – painted at the time of the Gulf War’.
8 Feb I don’t like this exhibition. Please change it.
9 Feb All the world’s a critic. I love it.
9 Feb Very good exhibition. Michelle Flynn
9 Feb Naomi, Rebecca, Jacob and Leona were here and thought the exhibition was SHAMAZING!!
9 Feb What an intimate set of drawings and paintings. He had a great emotional attachment to this place. He had a great sense of place and a talent to convey it. J.P., York
9 Feb Amazing, work of great character. Capturing the heart and soul of the surroundings. Brilliant. John Beals.
9 Feb I don’t understand half of them. There’s one with a blob of paint. How is that ‘amazing’? I could do it.
9 Feb Some really nice pictures.
9 Feb I loved it and my favourite of Danby, 1961. P Morrison
9 Feb My favourite is Smithie Rules OK. C. Morrison
They are very nice paintings. M. Millward
Cool
Fascinating man, and even more, greater life.
A life’s work. Fantastic. K. Stephenson
Here once again to look at this amazing work. Janet Jeffrey
David’s pictures are so alive!! Enjoyed it immensely. I’ll be back.
Very Inspirational. Violeta Korena, Greece; Tatyana Zhekova, Dobrich, Bulgaria
10 Feb These are a very nice exhibition. I like it so much. Zainab and Hosam
10 Feb Very Good. More please. Leslie Reynolds
12 Feb Great to see more work by a Teesside artist, amazing/interesting breadth of subject matter and mediums. “Graham Smith”? is this the documentary photographer? Joseph White
12 Feb Puts Mima to shame.
13 Feb Brings back the days. Marty
13 Feb We enjoyed our day. Very good. West View Projects, Hartlepool
13 Feb Another South Bank lad who did well. Memories are nice to see. S. Banker
14 Feb Well worth a visit. I’ll come again.
14 Feb Absolutely breath-taking artist and exhibition. Wonderful ability to capture essence and context despite a seemingly primitive style. LET YOUR MIND LINGER.
15 Feb Totally agree with this (above). The people in pubs, oh they are so real … the political comments – (Thatcher and jobs massacre) Bosnia, Macmillan – brilliantly poignant/savage! Landscapes – some ‘straightforward’ looking, others full of love and humanity. THIS IS WHAT ART IS FOR. Alan T
15 Feb Excellent exhibition. I could linger all day looking at these fantastic paintings. Anne
15 Feb Thoroughly enjoyable exhibition. So much more interesting because he is a local artist. Judith
15 Feb Lily said it is awesome. Lily Grace Horner
15 Feb Very good paintings.
15 Feb Mint. Alice
15 Feb My old art teacher – Good work Mr Mulholland!
17 Feb A total surprise. An artist of real vision, and a local Renaissance man. Work that is profound and moving. Thanks to Derek, another local artist, for bringing me here. Well done Middlesbrough Art Gallery staff. C. Goodwin, Cambridge
17 Feb It was awesome but could do with something for little children, like drawing.
17 Feb He was my teacher (Gillbrook School). Great teacher in art and in life. Excellent work. Genuine man.
17 Feb Cool.
17 Feb Good artist.
19 Feb David’s work is inspirational and very emotive.
19 Feb Very good work. I liked! L Thorpe, age 40
19 Feb Very interesting paintings, specially the Smithie Rules OK. GJ – age 8
19 Feb I like it. Grace Johnston, age 5
19 Feb I liked every one. Emma Gray, age 8
19 Feb When I came in, the first picture was graffiti. When I had another look around the room, there was a colourful picture of trees and hills. This really inspired me. Great work. Lily, 9
19 Feb Great work, dark with a sense of humour.
19 Feb All the art stuff was amazing. Josy Miller
19 Feb Some very nice paintings
20 Feb Very Meaningful paintings.
20 Feb Very colourful and cool.
20 Feb Lovely pictures.
20 Feb Art work was inspiring.
20 Feb Very good work. I am inspired. Siobhan Miller
20 Feb We did like the head, or the exhibit known as ‘at the dentist’.
21 Feb A group from Dolly Mixtures ,Middlesbrough, came and looked at the paintings. There are lots of different styles and my favourite is the one from Ian Macdonald. Maisie Woodcock
21 Feb It is amazing
21 Feb Enjoyed very much. Interesting to read about David Mulholland too. We always enjoy coming to this room. Some great art work. J. Pickering, E. Pickering and P. Wilson
I liked the ‘At the Dentist’ sculpture. Rebecca Sykes, aged 11
All really interesting. My favourite is ‘Girl in the Night Surf’. Ella, aged 14
Great display of ‘light and dark’ moods.
Great exhibition. V. Clay (42)
Really enjoyable exhibition. Amy, aged 28
I like it, because the pictures are great. Isabel Russell, aged 6
My favourite is the graffiti wall ‘Smithie rules OK’. T Rose, aged 10
Thought provoking and stimulating experience. Well done. Steven B, 30 yrs
Boro Boot Boys, great. Harry Twohy, aged 19
I like it.
It was good.
It was great … REALLY INTERESTING.
The pictures were amazing. I loved them. Thank you.
FANTASTIC! Thanks for showing his work. M
Best exhibition I’ve ever seen in Boro!
An unrecognised national treasure.
It is a very interesting exhibition even though the dentist thing and the head above water was kind of freaky! Timu
I think that it was very inspiring and wanting me do more art. David Mulholland is an amazing painter and it is hard to believe that he has drawn all of these as well as painting. It is an amazing exhibition and I would like to come again. Ava
It was cool. The dentist thing was strange. It looked like my brother. Loved it. Megan, 10
It was very interesting looking at all the art. Kirsten 7
It was very interesting looking at the different art work displayed. Jessica
Nice oil pastels. Some good paintings. Mint old cigarettes. Olivia
The cigarettes were very interesting. William
I liked the paintings, they were very interesting. Thomas James King, age 4 ¾
Emotional. Loved it. Dorothy Glass and Paul Perceval
Super ekstra ngstawy. Najlepsa na I pectize.
Nice to see work from a local artist.
Brilliant displays.
Nice to see an artist’s work from our area. Brings back memories of youth. Different styles of work – interesting – very enjoyable.
Some great work. Josie
Enjoyed the art gallery. Jessica
David Mulholland was my art teacher at Gillbrook School. What a joy to see his work on the wall. Fantastic.
An excellent collection of the North East. Amazing. D Brown, 47
Rubbish. Horrible stuff.
Great to see a fab local artist’s work.
2 Mar This room is good but could be more exciting for children.
3 Mar Plenty of other rooms for children. Paintings are for adults.
3 Mar Atmospheric weather and local scenes. Fantastic.
3 Mar Nice paintings. Grace RO
3 Mar I liked the Teddy Bear picture. Fab u lus. M Millward
3 Mar Enjoyed exhibition as I lived in South Bank in the late 60s. Thanks Dave.
6 Mar Very good and interesting
6 Mar. I like the man who is at the dentist. Very good.
6 Mar Wonderful! What a talent. The ‘Thanks for nothing’ painting sums up the Thatcher years.
6 Mar Thought provoking.
7 Mar ‘Thanks for Nothing’? Sums up everything in this country now. Enid, Ralph and Ian
7 Mar Old Station Master’s House was my old playground on Station Road, South Bank. RH
7 Mar Enjoyed having a drink with him.
8 Mar Such a story of the era and place. Amazing!
8 Mar To think that people actually painted these picture. Anonymous
10 Mar Wonderful work. Amazing insight into the area. As usual artist never got recognised until too late. Love his work. Sheila Middleton, Norton
10 Mar It was very good
10 Mar Good.
10 Mar Love the museum but myself and the children were highly disappointed that the ‘electric + water’ display had been taken away for an art exhibition that is more at home in ‘MIMA’ !!!
It was good and exciting.
Highly amused. Half paintings looked like something from Shaun of the Dead.
He was my mam’s art teacher from secondary school. RY from Redcar
LOL, The person with their fingers in their ears of “Thanks 4 Nothing’ made me laugh.
17 Mar Yes – yes – yes. Delicious.
17 Mar Magnificent.
17 Mar I like his paintings.
17 Mar He was a very good friend and I know he would have been really pleased at this exhibition. Paul Menliss (friend of DM)
Aaron Peacock and Heather Macqueen really enjoyed looking at the paintings.
Really nice paintings.
He was my art teacher.
21 Mar Reminds me of my youth in Liverpool. Excellent art. Stephen Donnely, lives in Middlesbrough, originally from Liverpool
22 Mar David Mulholland is an amazing artist. EH
23 Mar Really good and scary sometimes but really interesting and enjoying. Really loved it but maybe should add a little sunshine or lights. It’s just a tiny bit scary but really good all round. Loved it a lot.
23 Mar Super good!
23 Mar Cool. Love it!!
23 Mar A fabulous collection of paintings. What an amazing and incredibly clever artist. L. Blenkinsopp
23 Mar I loved it. All of the painting was unique. Anonymous
24 Mar I loved all of it. Poppy
24 Mar Ashamedly, I had never come across David Mulholland’s work before. Thank you for allowing access to a collection of beautiful thoughtful works. J. Joy
24 Mar Dave taught me at school and I learnt a lot from him. I went on to do well in my art … thanks Dave. I loved looking at the work/pictures. My favourites are the charcoal and pencil pictures of the blast furnaces.
24 Mar Love the exhibition, the teddy bear picture is great, and all the nature paintings are lovely. Molly Brown and Dad
24 Mar I like the ‘at the dentist’s head thing. LOL.
24 Mar Very good. We liked looking at all the different art work. David Mulholland is an excellent artist. My favourites are pool player, man in bar and woman in the room – Princess Alice. Beeri Dimitri
24 Mar I liked the teddy bear painting that was painted in the gulf war, H Ha lol. Eric Kenshlaugen Hoffman
24 Mar They are good paintings. Erin, aged 8.
24 Mar I loved the teddy picture. It was AWESOME!
24 Mar Fabulous paintings. My Dad was a RDL man.
24 Mar Must be one of the most impressive and important shows of work by an artist staged in Middlesbrough for long enough. Well done Dorman Museum!! Alan Morley
27 Mar Fantastic artist. Was impressed by his exhibition at the old art gallery in the ‘70s and seeing his work again reminds me of just how brilliant he was. Lovely companion, great company, even greater artist. Colin Adamson
27 Mar Seems an unassuming man who has shared his talents with others Nice to see a range of people have enjoyed his work. But well done for bringing them together – lovely range and variety and some lovely vibrant scenes stand out among the more serious paintings. A very very talented and obviously thoughtful young man. Enjoyed this immensely. Such variety.
28 Mar Very good. C Quinn
28 Mar All of the pictures are epic, especially the steel mill one – it is very detailed.
30 Mar It is a good art room but the graffiti picture looks like it was done by a bunch of naughty kids. But there is some good art work – creative and things.
1 Apr We visited Dorman’s on Monday 1st April. We liked the pictures. April fool. K.K. and G.
1 Apr I liked looking at the art. Lillie, aged 8
1 Apr Dave was my old art teacher. Good fun to teach us art. Claire Middleton nee Millward.
2 Apr Very interesting
2 Apr Really amazing!
2 Apr Weird pictures.
2 Apr It has been on a long time. Change it please.
4 Apr It was fun. We enjoyed it. Aminah and Adam
4 Apr Should do things like artists more often
4 Apr My 10 year old son really enjoyed this exhibition, especially the steelworks paintings.
4 Apr My favourite is the one of Danby. Lucy
4 Apr Clean. Lovely paintings. Brill. Norma
5 Apr Memories of South Bank where I lived 1949–69. What a wonderful collection. J. Campbell
5 Apr Excellent exhibition. Grandchildren thought some of the paintings were creepy because one of the painting’s eyes kept following them. I loved them.
5 Apr I liked the painting of Moors Railway Station.
5 Apr Great free-spirited stuff – but a dark palette!
5 Apr My favourite one is the Night Swim: Head above Water. P. Ouvia
6 Apr I liked the one loaned by Len Tabner, because it is in Middlesbrough and it shows how much you can do with a pencil
6 Apr I like this exhibition. You could do a tour about it.
6 Apr Really fun. Really enjoyed looking at all the art. Don’t get how a pack of cigarettes is ‘amazing art’, but really fun. I’ll give it a 4+. Well done.
I really enjoyed David Mulholland’s art exhibition. I especially liked ‘Postcards from Ellerby’ and ‘Father and daughter watching a lively tide on an orange night’. FW
David Mulholland, Painter, you were a dream. Sleep well. Love you.
Beautiful work. So sad he is no longer with us. Such a great talent. Jean N.
David Mulholland is a great painter and the Margaret Thatcher one is good because it shows how horrid she was and, since she only died recently, it is convenient. Emily Hannah Willet
9 Apr Paintings are art at the highest. It was very good work. Samuel Stephenson, age 6
These are no good. That is my opinion
Very good. Aliyaf
10 Apr Wonderful. A great painter. The ‘Thanks for Nothing’ sums up the area.
Absolutely beautiful work. Love this museum so much. Can’t get better babe; ah ah, Beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, amazing. Charlotte (n) Pippa
Beautiful art work. Well done!!!
Amazing. Well done. Something for everybody.
Good art work. Much better than MIMA!!!
Brill. Cool. Fab. Great. Epic. WOW.
Much better than MIMA but I reckon I could do better.
Nice art work. I think they are modern.
I like the paintings. GM Askins
12 Apr Bought a book of his paintings and this is how I discovered David Mulholland. It has been a real pleasure to see this exhibition of his paintings. Well worth the trip from Burton-on-Trent
12 Apr I am very pleased that my daughter came up from Burton-on-Trent and has introduced me to this inspirational artist. Jean Saville
13 Apr Work here is inspirational. G Spensley, Art student
13 Apr Lovely and simple. CCAD students
I knew Dave from the Prince, South Bank. A fine artist and down-to-earth man. Typical Slaggy Island bloke. Great show. RIP Dave. KB
16 Apr At last a local lad comes home. It’s taken far too long. Well done to all involved and especially Pete McCarthy for driving the whole project. A. Spence
16 Apr We loved it. Jayden
18 Apr Very enlightening. Good to have an exhibition by a local artist.
18 Apr Interesting – didn’t think it would be. Tommy
Too much black. Some interesting paintings. Is very sad. JJ
Imaginative interpretation of scenery and atmosphere of the area. A southern observer, PM Jones
20 Apr Hadn’t heard of David Mulholland until I came here. Very impressed, captured by the atmosphere of the Prince, South Bank. This is my second visit to the exhibition, will no doubt come again. Thanks to all concerned for making it possible to show these locally for a local man. Well done. Elaine and Terry
20 Apr David Mulholland brought back a lot of nostalgia for my sister and I. We knew a lot of the area. Pam Peresa
25 Apr He taught me at school and did not inspire me at all. Was too busy drinking wine and smoking. Just let the kids mess about and throw paint a each other. He really could not be bothered. It’s a shame when I see that he was a fairly good artist that he did not at least inspire the kids he was supposed to teach
26 Apr In a word – superb and a master class.
26 Apr Incredibly moving.
26 Apr Amazing art work – really touching. Captures the emotion of that point in time.
26 Apr Immediate and essential.
27 Apr Great. Very enjoyable.
27 Apr Really good paintings here. Really enjoyed it. I also liked the abstract painting. DJL
27 Apr Extremely inspiring – your old mate Brian Smith.
27 Apr Very good work. Keep it up, up there. Robbie and Margaret, Redcar
5 May I like every picture in this room. Joseph Atkinson
5 May It is great to see works of art that were influenced by my home country – Nigeria. C. Anyeagbina
Dave taught me in the 80s. I was ‘difficult’ at school and Dave saw me sat in the isolation room. He gave me ideas; I drew what he called ‘social realism’. He eventually persuaded me to apply to art college: they let me in (with no A-levels). I still paint, occasionally. Dave gave me a huge black and white photo of skinheads at a concert, he took and developed, now lost to my ex-wife. His input meant a lot to me – kept me out of ‘trouble’ – and I’m so pleased his work is now being recognised. He is one of the North’s greatest artists and humanitarians. ‘Thanks sir’. Jeff Lillystone
One of the finest teachers at school in Gillbrook. Laidback back beyond belief. I have never drawn anything as good since his class. G. Fleming
A very powerful exhibition of work by a very gifted artist. I know artists who have clearly been influenced by his work. Alan W
Brilliant work. C. Hammersley
Awesome bro! DM Jones
I don’t like it … I love it. Dina Hassan, age 9
The art work was astonishing. It was fantastic. LOVE IT. Seanan Glasby, Age 11
12 May Visited our cousin’s (David) exhibition for the second time. His work is known to us but some show us just how versatile he was. An original Teesside artist, in a class of his own He used to say he bought a house opposite the Coke ovens, on Normanby Road, because ‘if you see the smoke billowing, it means there is work!’ Norma Smith (Normanby) Wendy Philpot (South Bank) and Julie Fitzgerald (Newcastle)
A great exhibition. God Bless David!
18 May Brilliant exhibition. What a great painter and capturer of people, society and emotions. Stunning.
18 May Another great great Teessider. So glad to have the opportunity to see this collection of work. Nathan
Brilliant. Very atmospheric and wonderfully evocative of times.
Great exhibition – very powerful– makes me proud of this area, a sense of what has really gone on in the lives that have lived here, something more beautiful because it struggled with the struggles. The paintings seem dark but the head that produced them holds the light. B. Dee
A fantastic exhibition – very moving and a powerful records of life in the North. I particularly liked the limited pallete work. This would make a wonderful permanent exhibition or, perhaps, efforts could be made to hang it at the Pannet (Whitby) for a while. Gail Hurst, Port Mulgrave
Brilliant exhibition. What a fantastic talent. How wonderful to see such moving art – in total contrast to the rubbish constantly exhibited at MIMA.
Brilliant art from the North.
All good pictures and this is my dad’s art teacher, and it is fantastic.
Very good exhibition. Isabelle Turton
I liked it. Alex Ainsley
It is amazing!!!!. Isabel Caron Harbor
I thought that the art work was amazing. Demi
Excellent. Inspires the children to draw and use their imagination.
Amazing. Niall Taylor and Catherine Taylor