Stockport artist Helen Clapcott shows works at retrospective exhibition in her hometown

Video report by Paul Crone

An artist who got everyone talking, when she displayed her work on three giant billboards on a busy road in Stockport has been given her own exhibition in the town.Helen Clapcott's paintings feature the architectural history of Stockport over the decades. She has been capturing the town on canvas since 1974, with some of her works taking two years to complete.

With a style reminiscent of Salford artist LS Lowry, Helen's work is renowned for her depictions of the post-industrial landscape of her hometown. A result of meticulous sketches, her paintings reflect the town's landmarks, like the former mills and the viaduct.

One of Helen's works on a giant billboard in Stockport Credit: ITV Granada
Three billboards outside Stockport, Greater Manchester

And from displaying her artwork on billboards on a busy road in Stockport, back in 2022, Clapcott has now moved to a more plush venue to display her vivid images of the town.

She has been given her own exhibition at the Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, giving art lovers a chance to see her work showing the town's industrial heritage through the decades.

More than one hundred of Helen’s works will be displayed, including flagship pieces The Power Station, The Last Carnival and Brinksway 1979, Before The Motorway.

Helen's works depict iconic images of Stockport Credit: ITV Granada

She said: "I always thought Stockport Gallery was the most tremendous space, and to have a retrospective show here over 50 years is fabulous.

"The paintings are done in egg tempera - instead of mixing pigment with oil to make oil paint, I mix it with egg yolk to make egg tempera!"

The exhibition, ‘A Portrait of Stockport’, will run until 25 January 2025.