Alexander Robertson writes as follows of this fine and characteristic work, dating from the late 1870s: 'On occasion Grimshaw would introduce a nostalgic touch into his street scenes which goes beyond mere "staffage". This feeling of romantic sentiment is nowhere more successfully achieved than in Home Again, set in the fishing port of Whitby. The theme of the "return" was a popular one with Victorian artists. Often the character who has returned arrives too late, after a loved one's death; however, in Grimshaw's painting, the joy of a reunion is being celebrated. The picture's composition, with its alternating bands of dark and light masses, presents a soft background to the embracing couple. The forest of masts is reminiscent of early paintings by Whistler and his Thames etchings. Tissot had also featured dockland in his London series. Home Again is a rare instance in Grimshaw's art of the human side of fishing life, but one where he has used all his usual devices of light shining through fences and masts.'