Henderson was a close friend, and eventually father-in-law, of artist William McTaggart. He painted many seascapes, depicting the Scottish seas in different conditions and with particular attention in later work to the atmosphere and lighting of specific places.
This sequence of images (from 1stdibs website) show how he used many pigments and complex brushwork to craft a moving breaking wave.
This painting is by an artist who is based in Southern California on the San Diego coast. Though her comments (below) could be spoken by an artist on the Fife coast, would Scotland’s seas ever be depicted in a painting like “Incoming Tides”?
Sherry Krulle-Beaton: “I have always lived within a relatively short distance from the sea. What captivates me as an artist is the sea presents me with all the examples and principles of design. At the same time doing so with a mood changing spectrum such as crashing of thunderous waves to the soft roll of sand pebbles rushing back toward the sea. Living in a coastal community has made me more aware of how the ebb and flow, motion and moods of the ocean can influence my art.”
From Sparks Gallery
The Fisher Lass portrays a sublime, stormy sea in the background, a socially realistic young woman with a basket of slippery fish in the foreground. She is placed parallel to the waves, dark head receding into pale surrounding highlights, crowned by wheeling gulls. Her contour is fatigued and buffeted by the wind, as are the gulls and the flapping fabrics. The light and shadow, sombre colours and the fine even brushwork create a realistic portrait of a solid person at work in a specific, albeit romanticised, environment. The viewer feels that this person is real and may even peer at her face. Indeed, this was Jessie Hughes of Pittenweem, born in 1892 and hence around 22 years of age when she was painted. She lived in the house nearest the sea. John McGhie (1857 – 1952), the artist, trained in Scotland, England, France and Italy, and eventually settled in Fife. He favoured the ‘plein aire’ approach to capturing landscapes and people at work.
The Scottish Fisheries museum is located next to the harbour in Anstruther, Fife. It holds a varied collection of paintings of Scotland’s seas and many are on permanent display.
The website http://www.scotfishmuseum.org describes the museum’s aim as follows:
‘Situated in a wonderful collection of historic buildings on the harbour of a small and beautiful fishing port, we are a charitable trust which has become a national institution with an international reputation.
Our principal aim, in all of our efforts with regard to the displays in our extensive museum and our many educational and research activities, is to excite informed interest in the development of the Scottish commercial fishing industry among people of all ages in and beyond Scotland. The core story that we have to tell is the history of how, through a constant process of innovation, the Scottish fisheries became such an important part of the lives of so many Scots.’
The photograph shows an artwork projected onto an old Edinburgh building to celebrate the New Year of 2020, a transcendent time for many Scots. It is ostensibly about the country’s coastline, ‘ten thousand miles of edge’. However, this is Nelson’s monument. It stands on Calton hill, overlooking the Scottish capital, and McKee makes a convincing case for it being a declaration in 1810 of Scotland’s identity within the British state. It is interesting that a memorial to the iconic British admiral was illuminated with images and poetry that portrayed a solitary island Scotland, linked to Europe by seas; the unionist stone transformed by an autonomous light. It may also be significant.