Fishing Boats on the Beach in Winter, a Man selling Shellfish

Mauve settled in The Hague in 1871, probably encouraged by Willem Maris, whose brother Jacob was a friend. The nearby beach at Scheveningen provided inspiration for new subject matter. As L. Frerichs wrote in the 1975-6 exhibition catalogue, 'One can hardly wish for a more beautiful example than this highly refined watercolour, in which the tonal values of a winter landscape have melted together with the sea to a tender grey, in which forms are fading in the early dusk.' (loc.cit.). Mauve's picture of a comparable subject dated 1874 was sold, Christie's, London, 10 May 1918, lot 66.