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Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall

Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall Australian-born (Richard) Hayley Lever (1876-1958) lived in England and then, for more than half his life, in the United States. Many of his paintings of locations in Cornwall, England, were executed during his stay there, from 1900 to 1911. Yet Lever did not stop painting St Ives, the artists' colony on the northern Cornwall coast, after he moved to New York (JAMA cover, May 27, 1998). Soon, scenes of Nantucket, Gloucester (Massachusetts), and New York emerged, while Lever continued his marine theme. Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall (cover) epitomizes the Cornish phase of Lever's career, both in style and in subject. Hayley Lever (1876-1958), Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall, circa 1900-1911, American (born Australia). Oil on canvas. 61 × 76.8 cm. Courtesy of the Huntington Museum of Art (http://www.hmoa.org/), Huntington, West Virginia; gift of Ruth Woods Dayton, 1967.1.158. In Lever's vision, the boats—luggers manufactured in St Ives—bob along the water. As the tide ebbs and flows, as part of a large tidal variation, the harbor's sandy floor at the minimum tidal range would leave those luggers high and dry. Lever painted boats with and without sails aloft, some resting near the marina and others under way; the boats hope to return with a full load of pilchard, the fish most abundant in Cornish waters. Teeming with pilchard boats then, and with pleasure craft now, the harbor remains sheltered from the vicissitudes of the Atlantic Ocean, providing an excellent beach for swimmers and sunbathers, as well as the optimal conditions for yachters and fishermen. The cobblestone streets of St Ives lead to the water's edge: along the way, aromas of West Country delicacies, including the traditional Cornish pasty, and hot scones slathered with clotted cream, tempt the taste buds. These treats of St Ives, culinary and scenic, existed 100 years ago—just as they do today—when Lever lived there and produced his beautiful vignettes. His treatment of light and color in the St Ives paintings, especially in Pilchard Boats, compare favorably to the more well-known works of his contemporaries, American Impressionists Childe Hassam, Frank Weston Benson (JAMA cover, May 27, 2009), and William Merritt Chase and earlier plein air painter and seascape genius Winslow Homer (JAMA cover, August 24/31, 1979). This depiction of St Ives harbor, with its turquoise and azure hues, calls to mind the vibrant color and seaside scenes in Claude Monet's 1867 paintings of Sainte-Adresse (JAMA cover, April 28, 1975). Despite the passage of time and the dividing line of the English Channel, the themes and color handling, similar to Monet's work, tie Lever closely to the Impressionist school. Examination of Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall, follows 2 paths: the scholarly pursuit, and the powerful emotional component. Historical accounts of the pilchard fishery in Cornwall express the importance of that fish on the economic and cultural development of far western England and its beachside communities. Impressionist influences, and those of modern masters Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, swayed Lever's artistic development. Composition of the work yields evidence of Lever's careful placement of elements, including the grass and unprepared luggers in the foreground, the use of perspective to detail the other boats in the background, and the brilliant colors of the water and the small town. Yet the painting's subtle beauty is in its warmth, its colors, and its smooth transfer of Lever's version of reality to canvas: the salty tang of sea air wafts its way from the painting's surface to the nostrils of the viewer. Listening closely, one can almost hear the squawk of seagulls and terns overhead, in concert with the soft clanking of the boats and their accoutrements as they drift slightly at their moorings in the marina. And then, with closed eyes and an open mind, one might even feel a moist sea breeze. As an older man, Lever developed severe arthritis in his dominant right hand; he learned to use his left hand for his daily activities, of which painting was chief. It is fortunate for collectors and art enthusiasts that Lever did not abandon his love of creation when faced with diminished physical capacity. When Lever's works are seen in context of modern American art of the pre–World War I period, their congruency is obvious: his colors, replete with the Impressionist flair, also compare with those of Maurice Prendergast (JAMA cover, October 1, 2008), a member of The Eight. Lever and another one of The Eight's participants, Ernest Lawson, were close friends. Lever's 1915 exhibit at the Macbeth Gallery—where The Eight held the debut show of their collective works in 1908—was likely arranged due to his friendship with Lawson, yet 2 decades later, successful shows and sales at the Macbeth Gallery were purely a measure of Lever's individual prowess, and the accessibility of his colorful paintings. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall

JAMA , Volume 305 (19) – May 18, 2011

Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall

Abstract

Australian-born (Richard) Hayley Lever (1876-1958) lived in England and then, for more than half his life, in the United States. Many of his paintings of locations in Cornwall, England, were executed during his stay there, from 1900 to 1911. Yet Lever did not stop painting St Ives, the artists' colony on the northern Cornwall coast, after he moved to New York (JAMA cover, May 27, 1998). Soon, scenes of Nantucket, Gloucester (Massachusetts), and New York emerged, while Lever continued his...
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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.2011.511
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Australian-born (Richard) Hayley Lever (1876-1958) lived in England and then, for more than half his life, in the United States. Many of his paintings of locations in Cornwall, England, were executed during his stay there, from 1900 to 1911. Yet Lever did not stop painting St Ives, the artists' colony on the northern Cornwall coast, after he moved to New York (JAMA cover, May 27, 1998). Soon, scenes of Nantucket, Gloucester (Massachusetts), and New York emerged, while Lever continued his marine theme. Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall (cover) epitomizes the Cornish phase of Lever's career, both in style and in subject. Hayley Lever (1876-1958), Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall, circa 1900-1911, American (born Australia). Oil on canvas. 61 × 76.8 cm. Courtesy of the Huntington Museum of Art (http://www.hmoa.org/), Huntington, West Virginia; gift of Ruth Woods Dayton, 1967.1.158. In Lever's vision, the boats—luggers manufactured in St Ives—bob along the water. As the tide ebbs and flows, as part of a large tidal variation, the harbor's sandy floor at the minimum tidal range would leave those luggers high and dry. Lever painted boats with and without sails aloft, some resting near the marina and others under way; the boats hope to return with a full load of pilchard, the fish most abundant in Cornish waters. Teeming with pilchard boats then, and with pleasure craft now, the harbor remains sheltered from the vicissitudes of the Atlantic Ocean, providing an excellent beach for swimmers and sunbathers, as well as the optimal conditions for yachters and fishermen. The cobblestone streets of St Ives lead to the water's edge: along the way, aromas of West Country delicacies, including the traditional Cornish pasty, and hot scones slathered with clotted cream, tempt the taste buds. These treats of St Ives, culinary and scenic, existed 100 years ago—just as they do today—when Lever lived there and produced his beautiful vignettes. His treatment of light and color in the St Ives paintings, especially in Pilchard Boats, compare favorably to the more well-known works of his contemporaries, American Impressionists Childe Hassam, Frank Weston Benson (JAMA cover, May 27, 2009), and William Merritt Chase and earlier plein air painter and seascape genius Winslow Homer (JAMA cover, August 24/31, 1979). This depiction of St Ives harbor, with its turquoise and azure hues, calls to mind the vibrant color and seaside scenes in Claude Monet's 1867 paintings of Sainte-Adresse (JAMA cover, April 28, 1975). Despite the passage of time and the dividing line of the English Channel, the themes and color handling, similar to Monet's work, tie Lever closely to the Impressionist school. Examination of Pilchard Boats on St Ives Beach, Cornwall, follows 2 paths: the scholarly pursuit, and the powerful emotional component. Historical accounts of the pilchard fishery in Cornwall express the importance of that fish on the economic and cultural development of far western England and its beachside communities. Impressionist influences, and those of modern masters Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, swayed Lever's artistic development. Composition of the work yields evidence of Lever's careful placement of elements, including the grass and unprepared luggers in the foreground, the use of perspective to detail the other boats in the background, and the brilliant colors of the water and the small town. Yet the painting's subtle beauty is in its warmth, its colors, and its smooth transfer of Lever's version of reality to canvas: the salty tang of sea air wafts its way from the painting's surface to the nostrils of the viewer. Listening closely, one can almost hear the squawk of seagulls and terns overhead, in concert with the soft clanking of the boats and their accoutrements as they drift slightly at their moorings in the marina. And then, with closed eyes and an open mind, one might even feel a moist sea breeze. As an older man, Lever developed severe arthritis in his dominant right hand; he learned to use his left hand for his daily activities, of which painting was chief. It is fortunate for collectors and art enthusiasts that Lever did not abandon his love of creation when faced with diminished physical capacity. When Lever's works are seen in context of modern American art of the pre–World War I period, their congruency is obvious: his colors, replete with the Impressionist flair, also compare with those of Maurice Prendergast (JAMA cover, October 1, 2008), a member of The Eight. Lever and another one of The Eight's participants, Ernest Lawson, were close friends. Lever's 1915 exhibit at the Macbeth Gallery—where The Eight held the debut show of their collective works in 1908—was likely arranged due to his friendship with Lawson, yet 2 decades later, successful shows and sales at the Macbeth Gallery were purely a measure of Lever's individual prowess, and the accessibility of his colorful paintings.

Journal

JAMAAmerican Medical Association

Published: May 18, 2011

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