1857 -1947 · Newlyn, Cornwall and outdoor realism

Work beaches, marine villages and collective ceremonies make Stanhope Forbes the founding figure of the Newlyn school.

Stanhope Alexander Forbes was born in Dublin in 1857 and died in Newlyn in 1947. Trained in London, notably at the Royal Academy schools, he completed his apprenticeship in France where naturalist painting and outdoor work transformed his manner. After stays in Brittany, he arrived in Newlyn in Cornwall in 1884 and quickly became the central figure of a colony attracted by maritime light, the life of fishermen and the possibility of painting directly in front of the motif. After stays in Brittany, he arrived in Newlyn in Cornwall in 1884 and quickly became the central figure of a colony attracted by maritime light, the life of fishermen and the possibility of painting directly in front of the motif. A fish sale, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885, brought together an entire community on the beach around daily work. A fish sale, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885, brought together an entire community on the beach around daily work. A fish sale, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885, brought together an entire community on the beach around daily work. The Bride's Health, acquired by Henry Tate in 1889 observation inside an inn: light, gestures and looks transform the toast into a collective portrait. Forbes composed large, readable scenes without sacrificing the concrete details of costume, tools or architecture. With his wife, the painter Elizabeth Armstrong Forbes, in 1899 he founded a painting school which kept Newlyn at the forefront of British art. Nicknamed the father of the Newlyn school, he linked European naturalism, Cornish identity and social narration in 1899. The "Stanhope Forbes" selection notably compares A Fish Sale and Bride's Health. His reading favors composition.

Forbes gives the seriousness of a common history on a daily basis: selling fish or raising a glass becomes the portrait of a community.