The Walker Art Gallery - Off to the Fishing Grounds (by Stanhope Forbes) - Art Appreciation and Haiku #5

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Dour but hearty men
sail the bay's capricious tides -
luggers drift like seals.

Off to the Fishing Grounds (by Stanhope Forbes)

This painting shows the Cornishmen of Newlyn at work as they set off on the rather flimsy boat (by our modern standards) to find the closely guarded locations of the best fishing grounds.

Fishing was one hell of a dangerous job in the 19th century, and in this painting, Forbes shows the men on a lugger, a traditional fishing boat.

From an artist's perspective, Alexander Forbes liked Newlyn because of the wonderful light and the chance to live among the subjects of his paintings.

_{Picture taken by me in The Walker Art Gallery.}

Although stylised, Forbes work followed the realism model of trying to capture a scene in motion (probably sketched in the first instance) to later add details to capture the feeling using colour and perspective.

In this picture, you can see the young boy waving to other boats of the fleet as (perhaps) his proud father looks on. The other fishermen lean out over the side balancing against the tack or working the ropes.

It is a simple painting but captures a pure moment of a culture that has all but disappeared. Although some Cornish Folk still take small boats such as these out fishing for pleasure, they are no longer the mainstay of a whole industry.

This is what I love about the Realism movement of art, especially when done well. It gives us a picture of a long-forgotten world, at a time when cameras were either in their infancy or not yet invented.

A Brief History of Stanhope Alexander Forbes

The artist Stanhope Alexander Forbes lived between 1857–1947 and was born in Dublin, Ireland. He married a Cornish lass in the summer of 1889 who was a fellow painter called Elizabeth Armstrong at Newlyn's St Peter's Church. They quickly moved into their first at the "Cliffs Castle" cottage, which overlooked the sea.

This rather romantic beginning forged Stanhope Alexander Forbes love of the area, and he founded the Newlyn School of Art with his wife, which lasted until 1938. He lived his whole life in the area of Newlyn, painting many works of the surrounding area, but also having travelled further afield before he met Elizabeth Armstrong (and settled in Newlyn) painting works in France and particularly Brittany with fellow artist H. H. La Thangue.

_{Both images are Creative Commons Licence Source one & Source two - Left is a picture of Stanhope Forbes, Right his Artwork The pier head}

Thanks for reading 🙂🌿

All photographs in this post are my own property, taken at The Walker Art Gallery. Banners and all other media are my own, designed using GIMP photo editing software.

Camera used - Samsung S7 Smartphone

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