John Brett, A.R.A. (1830-1902)

John Brett had a particular fondness for Trevone, a small coastal village two miles to the west of the north Cornish fishing port of Padstow. He had discovered it in 1889, and returned to paint there in 1894, and again in 1897. In the latter year he was in poor health, and thought the bracing sea air of Trevone would do him good. He arrived on 27 July, and stayed until the weather broke, returning to London on 7 September. He was dismissive about the work he managed to produce, stating in his Studio Log "did a few feeble sketches and bathed in sea when practicable." Nine sketches are known from this period, and they are better than he made out. Five were subsequently shown at the RA, and one, Trevose Head, was bought for the gallery at Grahamstown, South Africa. The current, previously unknown, work (no. 1502 in the catalogue of Brett's works) shows the view from Trevone across rocky Newtrain Bay with an incoming tide, towards the distinctive Gulland Rock in the distance. It is an attractive example of Brett's looser, late style, conceived partly as a response to the popular impact of Impressionism.

We are grateful to Charles Brett for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.