SUMMER In The Scilly Isles, Art and Stories 1962 to 1964, forms the fourth exhibition of archive works by the late Richard Gardham (1941-2014) at The Golden Ball, Cromwell Road, Bishophill, York.

Running from Saturday to March 2, this winter show displays drawings from the young artist’s time as a seasonal worker in the Scilly Isles, along with stories from his journals.

"This is the final full exhibition I will create as I intend to approach Yorkshire Arts for funding, now that I have a portfolio of his work," says his sister, Angela Gardham. "I've pushed the boat out on this one as it's both art and writing and involved me transcribing, as best I could, passages from his writing that were quite difficult to untangle."

The artwork on show comes from a digital archive of approximately 2,000 drawings and paintings made by Angela after the reclusive artist's sudden death in 2014. "They are skilled and assured line studies of people Richard observed, worked, played and drank with," she says. "They were well received in York and South Elmsall, where he lived and worked for most of his life

"This exhibition is not directly related to life in the South Elmsall area as were three earlier exhibitions. It's a response in art and writing of a local boy who ventured out and took Elmsall ways with him. The show is about his awakening to a different life in the idyllic Scilly Isles but it occurred in the shadow of his father’s cancer diagnosis and the sadness this brought to his large, close family at home, which touched him deeply and created conflicts within him."

Mr Gardham's experiences are described in The Island – The Dead Watcher, a journal he later left in the care of his sister, who has transcribed passages now displayed in the exhibition. Some of these and others from his later journals, along with appropriate drawings, are available on the website in blog and stories at publife.jaygee.org.uk.

"The passages, presented in booklets, are vital, youthful, sexy, direct, earthy, honest and full of life, just like his art," says Angela. "Aspects of life in the Scilly Isles, a favoured 1960s' holiday destination of another Yorkshireman, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, are laid bare in this small provincial exhibition."

Organised by Angela and Martin Gardham, Summer In The Scilly Isles can be viewed during pub opening hours, from 5pm to 11pm, Monday to Friday, and noon to 11pm at weekends. Admission is free and all are welcome.

John Hall has designed a poster for the exhibition that will be on sale at the pub. As with the previous three retrospectives, this is a non-selling show.

Charles Hutchinson