Bob Olley

South Shields artist Bob Olley brought humour and an eye for everyday detail to paintings and sculpture rooted in North East working life. Before becoming an artist, he worked as a miner at Whitburn Colliery.

His best-known works include Westoe Netty, painted in 1972: a lively view of a public toilet, complete with graffiti. When it was exhibited in South Shields, an alderman accused it of indecency. The controversy became part of the story of one of Olley’s signature works.