Private Dealers in Fine Irish and European Paintings

William Banks Fortescue 1855 - 1924

A Ploughing Match, Cornwall                       

Oil on canvas 40 x 72 inches. Signed by the artist and dated 1891
 

Artist’s label verso with title and address at Paul, Cornwall

Exhibited

Royal Academy, London, 1891, number 253;
Milmo-Penny Fine Art, December 2002;

Provenance

Private collection, Warwickshire

William Banks Fortescue arrived in Newlyn in 1885 where he shared lodgings with Stanhope Forbes. He was probably en route from France, although he does not appear to have spent as much time there as many of his contemporaries. He had studied art in Paris and in Venice.

Fred Hall was also amongst the group who set up studios there in the same year. Norman Garstin arrived the following year and before long, an artist colony was firmly established. Many of the residents had the opportunity to renew friendships developed in similar colonies in France during the preceding years.

By 1890 Fortescue had moved a short distance south of Newlyn to the small village of Paul, whose 14th century granite tower is shown in the distance in our painting. Much of the energy of these artists revolved around the annual routine of producing a major work for the Royal Academy. Indeed, it could be said that the Newlyn School was founded on Forbes’s Academy masterwork of 1885, A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach. Each artist was inspired by the success of their contemporaries and one masterpiece led to another. Undoubtedly a work of genius, A Ploughing Match epitomizes daily life in the 19^th century. It is a composition of great complexity, the scale and perspective of which could not have been more challenging. As the eye is led through the composition to the distant village, the viewer is stimulated by the discovery of many other teams and small groups, almost as far as the eye can see.

Further interest is gained by the high ground to the left, which is beautifully balanced by the windswept bush behind the main group of spectators. Further balance is found in the tonal range and colour harmony of the palette. The group of figures in the foreground, reminiscent of the work of Walter Osborne, delivers the main narrative of the composition. The plough team holds their attention as they make their turn. A bearded man points along the line of the furrow, which has just been ploughed. Competition is so intense that the only person distracted by a man selling apples is a small boy.

We can imagine the same scene repeated many times through the lines of spectators, spread along the headland as far as the eye can see. The ploughing match was a big occasion, which drew spectators of all ages from the surrounding towns and villages. We can tell from the sensitive handling of the gray and bay team in the foreground that Fortescue was a horse lover. He became a well-known figure in the villages as he rode about on a gray, not dissimilar to the one depicted here, with his easel strapped to his back.
 

A Fisherman’s Dwelling

Oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches. Signed by the artist
Artist’s label verso with title and address at St. Ives, Cornwall 

Exhibited
Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham, 1923

This painting will be included in our December 2010 exhibition
Price on application: dominic@mpfa.ie

The fisherman’s house is built around an open courtyard surrounded by a lean-to structure supported above massive timber posts, probably cut from shipwrecked masts. Much of the activity of the household appears to take place here. The fisherman’s wife toils over a large tub in which she washes clothes that are then hung to dry. The tub is filled from a distinctive pitcher, probably manufactured from local copper. Without creating a fussy painting, Fortescue notices details such as the white bib and tip of the cat’s tail, happily feeding on a plate of fish. The large terracotta jar in the foreground was probably used for curing fish with salt spread from the smaller container. The fish strung from the rafters has already been preserved and is hung under cover to dry, all in preparation for the winter months ahead. The fishing net has been taken from the harbour for repair. The theme of the painting is similar to a number of other Fortescue works of the period, for example Fisher Girl and Mending Nets.

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Private Dealers in Fine Irish and European Paintings
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