Signed and dated: B.P./1896

Oil on canvas  

Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition, 1898, no.155 

Literature: P.Lawson/J.Rennie, Bertram Priestman Exhibition Catalogue, Bradford Art Gallery/Ferens Art Gallery Hull, 1981, cited in introduction

The present work forms part of an important series of paintings that Priestman embarked on in the mid 1890s and which dwell on the grandeur of resting or abandoned ships. The surrounding landscape is likely to be the Suffolk and Essex estuaries near where he had settled a few years earlier. Priestman?s landscapes, whether in their depictions of tugs, boatyards, or steamers carry the  constant reminder of man?s effect on the landscape. Such details contribute to him being counted amongst the most original artists to bridge the divide between Victorian and Edwardian painting. In his day he exhibited equally alongside figures like Philip Wilson Steer and Henry Tonks. Like those artists he looked beyond his own shores to the modern influence of Whistler and it is no coincidence that he enjoyed success initially exhibiting at the New English Art Club during its heyday. Later he included amongst his pupils the young Edward Seago on whose work he had a profound influence.