Sketch of a Boat with Reddish Sail

Artist Sarah Cecilia Harrison (1863 - 1941)

Datebefore 1915

MediumOil on board

Dimensions32.8 x 24.4 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Bequest of Mrs Walter Ford, 1972.

Object number1333

DescriptionHarrison's time spent in France brought her into contact with current ideas on painting, in terms of both subject matter and technique. 'Sketch of a Boat With Red Sail' is a small informal painting which reveals this knowledge. The subject matter, a rustic fishing vessel moored on a gravely stretch of coastline, is not untypical of the everyday scenes being painted in the artists' colonies in France. In contrast to her formal portraits Harrison has executed this piece in a free impressionistic style. Forms are described through the build-up of paint rather than by precise drawing. The brushwork is fluid, particularly in the beach area in the immediate foreground. The composition is structured around the strong vertical mast and its reflection, set almost at a right angle against the boat. The latter is reinforced by the low horizon, about half way down the composition, which allows for the large expanse of pale blue sky, creating a light airy mood. The range of colour in the work is warm, dominated by the orange and terracotta sail.

While Harrison was in France she painted a number of small landscapes. This work is not dated, but we do know that it dates to before 1915 since Lane was shown the work by the artist's sister. In her will she noted that when she showed this to Sir Hugh Lane he said 'We'll have this in the Municipal Gallery one day'.

(Catalogue Entry [20]: A Century of Irish Painting - Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1997, p. 147)

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