Andrew Clay is the Director of Woodend in Scarborough, which was the home of the Sitwell family for over 50 years and now supports the growth of creative and cultural enterprises in the Scarborough region.  Andrew, who studied History and the Study of Art at Anglia University (Cambridge), gave us a wonderful illustrated lecture about the work of his Great Great Grandfather Mark Senior (1862-1927), the Staithes School Artist, who was born in Yorkshire and studied at the Slade.  Andrew has spent many years researching his famous ancestor's life in more detail and collecting his artwork.  Andrew proudly owns a sketch book belonging to his Great Great Grandfather, which shows figures used in his paintings.  Runswick Bay became Mark Senior's second home each year between Easter and October: this gave him easy access to paint a plethora of subject matter associated with the Runswick vicinity.  Senior was a founder member of the Staithes Art Club and exhibited his work at the Royal Academy and many of the leading Art Galleries in the UK during his lifetime. His paintings can be found at a number of art galleries today including Leeds, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Whitby.  

Andrew Clay very kindly donated the proceeds from his extremely entertaining lecture to fund our Young Arts Project for some of Scarborough's talented young people who have an artistic flair.