The Trawler

The sea and the coast were recurring these for Charles Napier Hemy. He studied at Newcastle Art School and his early works of rocky coastlines show a strong Pre-Raphaelite influence. Hemy continued his studies under Baron Leys at the Antwerp Academy and for a while painted historical genre scenes. By the late 1870s he returned to marine subjects and eventually settled in Falmouth, where he became one of an increasing number of artists who were applying a European-acquired naturalism to their depictions of the Cornish coast. His love of sailing, can be seen in the present picture, with its broad, swirling style.