This painterly view of Whitehaven has gone out on loan to the Beacon, Whitehaven’s museum, where it is included in their exhibition Whitehaven’s Maritime Past. Loans are good opportunities to look at work that isn't currently on display at Tullie House and reflect on how the different context might bring up new interpretations. At Tullie the work becomes part of a larger collection of views of Cumbria and the formal qualities of local artists. Whereas in Whitehaven, its topographical intricacies can be examined in close comparison to the harbour as it now is. Fascinating stuff. You can read a little more about this painting below.
The South Harbour, Whitehaven 1898 watercolour by George Nelson Junior (d.1921).
In this colourful view of Whitehaven harbour, ships and boats of varying sizes are moored in the calm waters beside the jetty or harbour walls. Beyond the harbour lies the town, rising up into the hillside. The tall chimney in the right of the composition is the site of William colliery.
The watercolour was given to Tullie House in the same year it was painted by the Cumberland and Westmorland Arts and Crafts Society.
George Nelson Junior was a prominent local artist, who trained in Liverpool and the Slade in London. Soon after his return to his home town of Whitehaven he painted this work.
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery collection, gift of Cumberland and Westmorland Arts and Crafts Society 1898
Image © Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery
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