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About The Westoe Gallery
The Westoe Gallery and Picture Framers
of 69 Westoe Road, South Shields, South Tyneside was founded
by Thomas Wilkinson in 1974. The business provided picture
framing services and prints.
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Thomas Wilkinson - The Artist
Throughout his career, Thomas Wilkinson has commissioned a
number of art works picturing the South Shields coastline
and has even handed work over to the Queen.
Thomas was one of three brothers brought
up by their widowed mother during the harsh times of 1920s.
Born on February 29, 1920, he often joked to his family that
his real age was only 21.
A former pupil of St Hilda's School in
South Shields, Thomas Wilkinson later served in the RAF during
the Second World War, with the 38 Squadron Middle East Command
in Palestine, Egypt and Libya. After the war he made the most
of his artistic talents working as a painter and decorator
and as a sign writer, before turning art and picture framing
into his profession.
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A well-known watercolourist, Thomas loved
to paint his favourite scenes of South Shields, the River Tyne and
Marsden Rock. Click here
to view his work of Watercolours of South Shields.
One of his proudest moments was meeting the Queen
during the opening of South Shields Magistrates' Court in May 1997,
where he gave her a picture of his work.
In 1986, the artist painted the prize of the
Gazette's Tall Ships Race picture competition with his watercolour
of a tall ship leaving the Tyne in full sail without even seeing
the race.
His son David, 57, says: "He was a very
well-known artist in South Tyneside and painted for a lot of people.
He continued to work throughout his retirement and has work displayed
across the world".
"When he handed his work over to the Queen
he said 'it's no Christopher Lloyd', who is a famous royal artist."
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The Business Now
His grandson, Gary Wilkinson, spent many
hours of his spare time as a young boy working with his Grandfather
Tom in The Gallery workshop. There his grandfather taught
him how to size and cut pictures frames and mount prints and
pictures. He loved it - picture framing became his hobby and
now his business!
Sadly Thomas Wilkinson died in 2005
and now Gary runs the business providing a complete bespoke
custom-made picture framing service and wonderful unique prints
of his grandfather's work, lovingly framed and offered for
sale from his shop at 69 Westoe Road, the original Westoe
Gallery premises used by his grandfather.
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