Fisherfolk by a coastal inlet

Born in Southampton and active throughout Hampshire and the New Forest, William Shayer painted idealised, picturesque scenes seemingly untainted by the social and economic changes of Industrial Britain. He favoured coastal subjects such as the present work, or rustic woodland scenes. Despite catering for a predominantly local market, he exhibited widely, showing works at the Royal Academy between 1820-43, over 330 works at the Royal Society of British Artists, and 80 at the British Institution between 1825-1870. An occasional collaborator with the celebrated landscape painter Edward Charles Williams, Shayer's self-taught, competent style changed little during his long career.