Stanhope Alexander Forbes, R.A.

W. Rodman, Belfast where purchased in 1924 by a private collector and thence by descent until 2000;
Christie's, 24 November 2000, lot 109;
Richard Green, London;
Private collection

Original canvas. Two faint areas of craquelure to the back of the boy's head and near the base of his back; these appear stable and only visible upon close inspection. The work appears in good overall condition. Under ultraviolet light there appear to be minor flecks of retouching to frame abrasions along each edge. Some flecks of retouching to the baskets and a small area of retouching by the boy's right knee. Held in a gilt plaster frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Stanhope Forbes was one of the leading and most influential painters of his generation with a central place in the development of art in England. He was at the forefront of the modern movement at the turn of the 19^th century, having lived and taught a doctrine of painting en plein air and contemporary subject matter, inspired by his early experience in Brittany in the 1880s and the work of the naturalist painter Jules Bastien-Lepage.

In 1884 Forbes settled in Newlyn, Cornwall where he was instrumental in establishing a community of artists who lived and worked among their subject matter, presenting highly realistic portrayals of life in a Cornish fishing village, seen in such instrumental works as A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach (City of Plymouth Museums & Art Gallery) and The Health of the Bride (Tate). Amongst his contemporaries who either settled in Newlyn or worked nearby were the likes of Norman Garstin, Walter Langley, Thomas Cooper Gotch, Henry Scott Tuke and Frank Bramley.  

In Gossips one can see the principles of Forbes’ artistic outlook which represented his break from traditional Victorian painting, taking three generations of local villagers in casual conversation as its subject, and painted with broad but descriptive brushstrokes, while the distinctive Cornish light is seen in the landscape in the background. The challenges of their way of life are also evident in their rugged appearance, particularly the elder lady with the broom upon her shoulder.

Gossips was among the first pictures painted after Stanhope and his wife Elizabeth Forbes' move to Higher Faugan, the house built for them on Chywoone Hill above Newlyn. He took his vantage from the coastal road, which was only a short walk from his house, looking east to the harbour and town of Newlyn.

Forbes was integral in expounding innovative painting ideas to a new generation of artists, notably through the Forbes School of Painting in Newlyn which he set up in 1899. It attracted many younger artists at the beginning of the twentieth century and to this artistic hub came the likes of Samuel John Lamorna Birch, Harold Harvey, Harold and Laura Knight and Dod and Ernest Procter who carried Forbes principles forward in their famously idyllic visions of English life before the outbreak of the First World War.