signed and dated l.r.: F.Holl 1882
oil on canvas
51 by 76 cm., 20 by 30 in.
Frank Holl spent several summer holidays at Cullercoats on the Northumrian coast and this proved to be a place where he was inspired by the coastline and found an abundance of subject matter with the local fishing community. A.M. Reynolds wrote in the biography of her father 'This wild coast, with the little fishing village clustered round the only break in those stupendous cliffs which guard England on her Northern shores, was quite new ground to my father, and he hoped to find abundant material for work'. (A.M. Reynolds, The life and works of Frank Holl, 1912, p.83)
In the present painting we are confronted with a family waiting in anticipation for the return of their father from a fishing trip. It was commonplace for fishermen in Cullercoats to lose their lives as this coastline was renowned for its treacherous seas. The subject relates directly to an earlier painting 'No tiding from the sea' which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1871 and bought by Queen Victoria. In that painting the source of the subject was taken from an occasion when 'one night there had been a terrible storm, and the boats were out. At dawn some of these straggled back to the little harbour under the cliff, but some never returned'. (A.M. Reynolds, p.84)
It is related to No Tidings from the Sea, bought by Queen Victoria and in the Royal Collection.
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?maker=HOLLF&object=405161&row=0
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