About this lot
Description
Stanhope Forbes RA (British 1857-1947)
Children on the beach, St Ives
signed and dated 'STANHOPE A FORBES / 1886' (lower right)
oil on canvas
30 x 40cm
Provenance:
Sale; Christie's, London, 22 November 1994, lot 246
Sold by the Executors of Roland Baker deceased
Literature:
E. Knowles, 'Checklist of Paintings' in Stanhope Forbes: Father of Newlyn School, Bristol, 2017, p.114, unnumbered
Within the last two centuries, Cornwall has established an incontrovertible reputation as one of the most influential and internationally significant artists’ colonies. Prior to the early 19th century, however, the region was chiefly associated with fishing and mining; geographically remote and primarily a site of industry, the area offered very few incentives to visit. In 1809, the first comprehensive pictorial survey of the county was completed by Royal Academician, Joseph Farington, who produced 24 topographical engravings which were later published in Britannia Depicta, Part IV. Two years later, J.M.W. Turner would make the same voyage. Following the southern coastal route, Turner produced in excess of 200 pochades, many of which were reproduced in his 1814 series Picturesque views on the southern coast of England, whilst others were used as the source material for his classical masterpieces.
Formerly known for its pilchard and mackerel fishing, by the late 19th century, Newlyn, the chief port of Mount’s Bay, was beginning to attract growing numbers of artists, all of whom were drawn to the dramatic landscapes and fertile opportunities for narrative realism afforded by the area. It is no coincidence that many of the artists that chose to settle in the Newlyn area had previously spent time painting en plein air in France, indeed, Stanhope Forbes described the fishing town as ‘a sort of English Concarneau.’
Stanhope Forbes settled in Newlyn in 1884 and, although he was not the first of his generation to make the move, having been preceded by Thomas Cooper Gotch, Henry Tuke, Walter Langley and Edwin Harris, the Dublin born artist soon became known as the ‘Father of the Newlyn School’. In Newlyn, Forbes was able to establish his own contemporary interpretation of the ‘picturesque’, documenting the daily lives and struggles of the local population, from the fishing communities of Newlyn to the nomadic roadside gypsies in the surrounding locale. In 1885, Stanhope Forbes received popular and critical acclaim for his work, A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy and effectively sealed both his personal reputation and the reputation of the Newlyn School.
In the summer of 1886, away from the silvery tonalities and dusky light of Newlyn, Forbes’ family were enjoying a holiday staying in nearby St Ives. Having recently been connected to the 1876 rail link between Penzance and Paddington, St Ives was rapidly becoming a popular seaside holiday destination, particularly amongst those who espoused the curative properties of sea-bathing. During the months between mid-July and September of 1886, Stanhope Forbes was known to frequently make the nine-mile journey over Paul Hill to join his family on the north coast, where he executed the present lot, together with a smaller study of a comparable composition, now held in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
Painted at Porthminster Beach, both works show small clusters of children playing on the sand, alongside bathing tents and lines of towels and swimming costumes drying in the breeze. Differing from the smaller pochade held at Bristol Museum, the present lot shows the peninsula sweeping into the left-hand side of the canvas, the distant twin piers delicately balanced against the horizontal clothes line in the foreground. In contrast to his Newlyn works, the present lot has a resolutely modern character. Painted in situ with a flat-ended brush, Forbes was seemingly experimenting with technique, composition, and palette. Whilst the Newlyn school valued temperate and, arguably, more authentic tonalites, in St Ives, Forbes made use of more vociferous harmonies, contrasting the sun-flashed sand against the cerulean ocean. Similarly, the high horizon and audacious expanse of sand and sky in the foreground of the image demonstrates a departure from Forbes’ more traditional compositions.
The painting is executed in oil on a canvas support which has been lined. The original canvas has a horizontal join running across the picture in the sky. It is unclear if this is a join in the canvas which was present before the artist started painting or a later occurrence. The canvas weave above and below the join are very similar in texture, suggesting the same piece of canvas. The join is well secured and stable. Overall, the paint layers are in a good, stable condition. There is retouching running the length of the join in the sky as well as down the right hand edge of the canvas, probably covering areas of wear and abrasion. There are other, smaller areas of retouching present. The retouchings are well matched to the original. The varnish is clear and even.
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