Figures in a rowing boat at Hastings

Hastings was already more than just a small fishing town by the end of the 18th century. It was a bathing place from 1770, and in 1794 its first guide book for tourists was printed. It attracted a great many artists following the success of Joshua Cristall's watercolours made during his visit in the summer of 1807. Cristall went to Hastings for his health, and it is possible that Farington was there for the same reason. Like lot 524, this drawing is made in the Canaletto-inspired linear style that Farington adopted for his topographical works on paper, many of which were made for Daniel and Samuel Lysons' Magna Britannia, published between 1806 and 1822.