Fishbourne
Date made: 1884-1933
Artist: Knox, Archibald
Description: A minimalist but still atmospheric watercolour by Archibald Knox (1864-1933) depicting a coastal estuary scene or flooded fields where the grey skies merge into the grey water, so that the thin line of land is almost indistinguishable. Although most of his watercolour sketches are untitled and unidentified views of the Manx and English landscape and coastal scenes, , Knox identified this as 'Fishbourne'. The main focus of the painting, the large building in the centre of the water, is either a tidal mill at high tide or a farm building surrounded by flooded fields. Knox's watercolour sketches can be seen as exercises in capturing the light and a single moment in time. The artist is said to have painted his watercolour scenes in a few hours or less, but that he would also sit for hours waiting for the exact light and cloud formations that he wanted to paint.
Measurements: artwork: 41 cm x 55 cm
Materials: watercolour on paper
Photograph and description courtesy of Manx National Heritage via the link at imuseum.im.