Toilers of The Sea

Artist Sir William Quiller Orchardson (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1832 - 1910)

Date1870

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 90 cm, Width: 144.8 cm
Frame: Height: 128.5 cm, Width: 184.3 cm

AcquisitionAlexander Macdonald Bequest, 1901.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG004494

Keywords

About MeOrchardson, along with William McTaggart, John Pettie, Hugh Cameron and George Paul Chalmers, was a pupil of Robert Scott Lauder in Edinburgh. Orchardson was a gifted student and began his training aged thirteen. Orchardson was to become one of the most successful artists of his day, largely because his paintings have a strong human interest and usually tell a story.

This is an unusual subject for Orchardson and is inspired by the memory of a childhood experience. As a boy of fifteen or sixteen on holiday in Arbroath, he made friends with a fisherman and accompanied him each day mackerel fishing. The boat is viewed in close-up and occupies the whole canvas, giving the impression that we too are taking part in the scene.

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Orchardson based this picture on his personal experience when as a teenage holidaying in Arbroath he used to sail out with a mackerel fisherman.