Just Arrived by the Sloop (in the Conway Valley, North Wales)

Henry Clarence Whaite 1828 - 1912

Summary

A misty rural landscape with a wide river to the right, a grassy river bank lined with trees to the left and massive pale blue mist covered mountains in the distance. A sailing boat, the sloop, is moored to the right of the river, and a small rowing boat is at the left bank. The painting is mainly of the landscape, although figures on the left are of a family moving its belongings. A small boy holds the rowing boat’s rope, to stop it drifting off, and an older boy is transporting a baby’s cradle from the boat to the shore, holding it above his head as he wades through the shallow water. A horse and cart wait under a tree as a man prepares the cart for the onward journey. A woman sits before the cart, nursing a baby. Furniture is piled up on the river bank beside her: wooden chairs, a table, and a birdcage. On the far left can be seen a tiny white cottage.

Display Label

Gallery text panel Life and Landscape High-Victorian Social and Rural Subjects The Pre-Raphaelite interest in modern life was paralleled by a more general demand for contemporary subjects. The Victorians' fascination with their growing world of new social types and changing patterns of behaviour is particularly echoed in their love of crowd scenes. Some artists tried to highlight the darker side of society by focusing on the plight of the less well off. Yet representations of the working class and unemployed are usually idealised or softened by sentimental treatment. The wealthier classes provided more popular themes in art: high society is often both celebrated and analysed in paintings of domestic interiors and social engagements. Depictions of the city and industrial activity are rare. In an age of urban degradation and mass poverty collectors sought escapism more than social reflection, which gave rise to an unparalleled market for landscapes. Typically extreme in evoking serenity or bleakness, their appeal often revolves around open-ended narratives and the presence or suggestion of human activity.