Lugger entering Peel harbour
Date made: 1891
Artist: Goodwin, George
Description: This stunning scene of a lugger entering Peel harbour demonstrates perfectly why the town is often referred to as the Sunset City.
The artist, George Goodwin, was born in Peel, 1851 – the son of an English schoolmaster who taught in Peel. He lived in Peel all his life, and worked as a house painter, alongside being an enthusiastic and energetic local historian in his spare time – compiling, amongst many other things, ‘The Genealogical Scrapbook’, listing the family trees of several of the island’s families, and ‘Manx Annals of Eighty years ago’.
Many of his paintings, mostly oils, depict views in and around his hometown – of which he exhibited 20 on the island, between 1889 and 1896. These paintings are usually of rural scenes, although he did begin to depict a more urban flair in his work as the island's rural landscape began to change.
This painting, however, shows a calm, beautiful scene to which many may be able to relate whilst visiting Peel, even in the more urban world of today. It is a classic sunset scene, with the lighthouse in the background and Peel Castle on the left being identifiers that could bring the scene to today. The delicate reflections bouncing off the light of the sea demonstrate the artist's skill, along with the range of warm colours used to portray the beautiful scene.
Measurements: unframed artwork: 29 cm x 56 cm
Materials: oil on canvas
Object name: painting
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1956-0167
Subject tags : #artgalleryplace