Dennis Donnelly

An insurance broker from Birtley, Dennis Donnelly first sought out Charlie in 1988 after hearing that St Cuthbert's Church on Bensham Bank was to be knocked down. He bought three oils that first evening, returned many times, and over thirty years accumulated around a hundred paintings for himself and placed roughly the same number with others.

In 2016 Dennis curated an exhibition of his collection at Low Fell Library in memory of Ann Rogers. Charlie attended and pronounced the display, in his usual register, to "show promise". Donnelly's fifty-year memoir of his friendship with Charlie forms one of the centrepieces of the book.