What A Catch! … Paintings Of Old Fishing Fleet Go Under The Hammer

Jan. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- PRESS RELEASE

To: News desk
From: David Lay
Today’s Date: 11th January 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHAT A CATCH! …
PAINTINGS OF OLD FISHING FLEET GO UNDER THE HAMMER

Images of a Cornish fishing fleet long since consigned to history will attract fresh interest at The Penzance Auction House next Thursday (19 Jan 2012), when a collection of paintings by a Mousehole “jobbing artist” are offered for sale.

The nine small watercolours by T H Victor depict boats from the Mousehole fleet around the early 20th Century, with some still wholly dependent on sail and others also motorised.  (3 FREE IMAGES ATTACHED)

Victor (1894-1980), who had a shop in the village, was a prolific Westcountry artist who painted mostly busy harbour and street scenes.

“There are countless hackneyed paintings of Cornish scenery, but to the best of my knowledge no-one has ever captured the old fishing fleet like this before,” said auctioneer David Lay.

“It is also something of a mystery as to why Victor chose to do this.  They were quite possibly commissioned as a special project, or it may have been an example of the old ‘pierhead artist’ in action.

“The ‘pierhead artist’ would stand on the pier and tout for business – selling portraits of boats and ships to their officers and crews.”

Mr Lay added:  “As a ‘jobbing artist’, Victor was simply in the business of mass-producing water colours in order to make a living.  In this way, he would have produced literally tens of thousands of paintings.

“He would be working on dozens of pictures at a time and there was a period when just about every house in Mousehole would have had one of his paintings.  They were particularly popular as wedding gifts, as well as souvenirs for the visiting tourists."

Of the collection going under the hammer, Mr Lay said:  “Victor’s pictures generally are characterized by lively composition and colour, but more than anything those of the fishing fleet have an almost ethereal quality.”

The paintings for auction are being sold on behalf of a Mousehole resident and are expected to fetch a total of up to £1,000.

END
EDITOR’S NOTES

Contact: Helen Mulhern at Eventy – Marketing & PR on 01326 376273/ helen@eventy.co.uk
David Lay, tel  01736 361414

Photo: Please find attached a low res photo of the three paintings being auctioned.  Higher res images are available on request.

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