Home  Catalogue The Newlyn School
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The Newlyn School |
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In the late nineteenth century a group of English artists, following the example of the French Impressionists, left the metropolis in search of rural landscapes. Influenced by such painters as Millet and Bastien-Lepage, they renounced the artificiality of the studio and sought to depict simple peasant folk, engaged in humble activities.
While the French artists headed for the forests of Barbizon and the coasts of Brittany, their English counterparts gravitated toward the wilder shores of Cornwall. The mild Cornish climate allowed them to indulge their passion for 'plein-airism' or painting out of doors. Living was cheap, and the primitive lives of the fisherfolk appealed to their typically British desire for narrative. Furthermore the climate, lifestyle and terrain of Cornwall are similar to that of Brittany where many of them had studied in Pont Aven and Concarneau.
In 1880 the artist Walter Langley settled in the busy fishing port of Newlyn. He was soon joined by Edwin Harris and Henry Tuke. When Stanhope Forbes discovered the village in 1884 he claimed to have found 'a sort of English Concarneau'. Frank Bramley soon followed, as did a host of other painters – among them Barry's tutor Alfred East. Combining the Impressionist interest in light with a native Victorian interest in realism, these artists evolved an unsentimental style which drew its subjects from the picturesque local community.
In its early days the Newlyn colony produced some extraordinary work. One of the first, and best examples was Stanhope Forbes' Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach (1884), a magnificent study of peasant figures, luminous fish, colourful boats, sand and sea. When it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1885 the painting was rapturously received. The following year many other Newlyn artists were accepted in the prestigious R.A. Exhibition and the Newlyn Group was declared the most original force in British painting.
In 1889 Stanhope Forbes and his Canadian wife, the painter Elizabeth Armstrong, founded The Newlyn School of Painting. It was to this school that Francis Barry came in 1905. While reinforcing the traditional disciplines of draughtmanship and finish, the school also encouraged individual expression – an ideal combination for a strong-willed young student.
After years of lodging with lugubrious doctors, Barry blossomed among Newlyn's artists. Under the influence of his new teachers, Barry developed a style which was both effective and popular. Within a year of his arrival he had two pictures accepted at the Royal Academy: Windsor from St. Leonard's Hill, and Midwinter at Newlyn. The following year his When Pilchard Boats Go Forth To Fish was accepted, and in 1908 The Long Year Link'd With Rainy Day On Day was also taken. Though none of these early works has been traced, their titles suggest that they followed the Newlyn style of narrative scenes of peasant life.
Such professional success however did not spell the end of Barry's problems. In 1907 when his grandfather died, Barry discovered he had been virtually disinherited. Having expected the deeds of the St. Leonard's Hill estate and an allowance of £8,000 per year, he found he'd been left only a small annuity. His father was unsympathetic and stressed the need for Barry to make his own way in the world. Again the suspicion arose that his step-mother had contrived to ensure most of the family money did not make its way to Francis. Nonetheless, on 16 December 1908, the day of his twenty-fifth birthday, Francis Barry married Doris Hume-Spry – despite his family's disapproval.
Along with many other artists, the young couple decided to abandon Newlyn for the newly discovered village of St. Ives.
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