When Huddersfield artist Maxwell Doig completed a series of works based on Newsome Mill he little imagined that only two weeks later the building would be almost destroyed in a catastrophic fire.

Today, all that is left of the Grade II listed mill, built in 1880, is the iconic clock tower.

The fire, which ripped through the historic mill in November last year, shocked the community. For Maxwell there was a sense that he’d chosen his subject matter at a critical point. He explained: “I caught it just in time and I’m glad I did. Just when you think something is permanent it disappears... Perhaps this is part of my job – to capture something before it disappears.”

Newsome Mill clock tower, painted by Maxwell Doig. Just two weeks after completing the work the mill burned down
Newsome Mill clock tower, painted by Maxwell Doig. Just two weeks after completing the work the mill burned down

Maxwell’s Newsome Mill images form part of a new exhibition, which has opened at the prestigious Messum’s Fine Art gallery in London. They feature a collection of largely architectural paintings, and a few monotype prints, that examine decay and loss.

Newsome Mill, near Maxwell’s Berry Brow home, lent itself to the theme. As he says: “I have become interested in texture and surfaces and have been doing architectural works for the last two years. I really like decay in architecture, it can be beautiful, I think, in terms of texture. I may do some paintings of the empty shell of Newsome Mill, so I’ve got before and after images.”

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Maxwell, who is a widely exhibited artist, has also included paintings of Holye Ing Mill Dyeworks on Manchester Road, gable ends of houses in Pole Moor and gas storage tanks in his latest show. Other works include fishing boats, huts and industrial machinery.

Yorkshire stone house by Maxwell Doig
Yorkshire stone house by Maxwell Doig

Many of the 54 paintings and prints share a bleak realism and hark back to his work in the 1990s when he focused on industrial landscapes. They can be see at the gallery until March 10 and on both the Messum’s website and his own website, messums.com and maxwelldoig.com