Watercolour by William Henry Pyne 'Fishermen’s Houses by the Thames at Lambeth', 1806

Watercolour of fishermen's housesss by the Thames at Lambeth

Given by J E Taylor, Esq.

Given by J. E. Taylor, 1894.

Historical Significance:

The son of a leather salesman in Holborn, London, Pyne studied at the drawing academy of Henry Pars (c.1733-1806). Working predominantly in watercolour, Pyne hand an eye for picturesque landscapes, which he populated with realistic figures. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1790 to 1811 and at the Old Water-Colour Society, of which he was a founding member, from 1804-1811. He was also a founding member of the Sketching Society, established in 1808. A skilful etcher, Pyne often made prints after his drawings. In 1798 with his Books with Groups of Figures by Pyne for Decorating Landscapes he began a long term publishing collaboration with Rudolph Ackermann. Pyne’s main importance is probably through his writings and records of the early movements of water-colour painters. Between 1816 and 1819 he published The History of the Royal Residences with 100 engravings, for which he wrote the text. Pyne never recovered from the losses incurred at the publication of this work and spent periods in the King’s Bench Prison. Writing more, he edited the Somerset House Gazette and published his contributions to it as Wine and Walnuts (1823) under the pen name of Ephraim Hardcastle.

In the early years of the nineteenth century there appears to have been a growing interest in the picturesque subjects offered by the location of Lambeth. In 1809, three years after this watercolour is dated, the New Drawing Book of Light and Shadow, in imitation of Indian ink published by Rudolph Ackerman noted the fishermen’s houses at Lambeth as “one of the many picturesque passages” for the artist to draw. Considering Pyne’s involvement with Ackerman and his eye for the picturesque, it is possible that the author was refereeing to works such as this watercolour. The book goes on to describe these scenes as similar to those “painted by certain masters of the Flemish and Dutch schools.” (See Anne Lyles, p.1). In 1808 the artist John Varley exhibited a View at Lambeth at the Old Watercolour Society.

This watercolour shows a group of fishermen’s houses along the south side of the Thames in Lambeth, London. Watercolour is applied over a faint outline of pencil. As a student Pyne quickly mastered drawing in pencil. This can be seen in his observation of the different structures along the banks of the Thames. Short strokes of watercolour are built up to create the contrasting textures, from the tiled roofs, brick and wooden walls to the soft foliage of the trees and calm current of the water. Just as Ackerman describes the picturesque surrounds being enhanced by rustic details such as the ‘humble’ fishermen mending their nets, here Pyne shows fishermen at work. From the age of sixteen, under the influence of Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, Pyne began introducing realistic figures to his landscapes. Here fishermen are shown in the foreground hauling boxes onto horse-drawn carts.


References: Anne Lyles, ‘John Varley’s Thames: varieties of picturesque Landscape c.1805-1835’, pp.1-35, in Old Watercolour Society’s Club Journal, 1994, 63rd volume

98-1894