Boscastle, Cornwall

Plymouth artist William Henry Pike was a painter in oils and watercolours. Many of his works represent West Country landscapes and seascapes, despite his move to London in 1881.

In this view of the beach at Boscastle we see how the sea provided both food and work for local people in the 1870s. There are no machines, no noisy engines but the backbreaking work of foraging on the beach requires the whole family to be involved. The deliberate splash of red on the woman’s clothing brings her family into the foreground and enlivens the muted colours in the background.

You can buy a high quality print of this work from Art UK.

Visual description: A watercolour of Boscastle beach at low tide as it was in the 19th century. In the background, a boat is moored while a man in a cart drawn by two horses attends to it. A second man is walking towards it, supported by a walking stick. In the foreground, a woman, a boy and a girl are foraging.