SP 4661
HAROLD HARVEY
Penzance 1874 - 1941 Newlyn
Marbles
Signed
Canvas: 12 x 18 in / 30.5 x 46 cm
Frame size: 17 ¼ x 23 1/8 in / 43.8 x 58.7 cm
Painted circa 1905
Provenance:
Private collection, Sweden
In a gilded Whistler-style frame
Frame size: 17 ¾ x 28 1/8 in / 43.5 x 46 cm
Harold Harvey was a Cornishman, born and bred and, although from a privileged background, he grew up amongst the fisherfolk that peopled his paintings. Like the other Newlyn artists, Harvey drew his inspiration from his surroundings and the local fishermen and their families frequently appear in his paintings of this period. As Tom Cross comments: ‘Harold Harvey did not seek to raise Cornwall or its people to heroic proportions, as did the earlier Newlyn painters, yet his numerous paintings form a fascinating record of the changing face of Newlyn in the early twentieth century’ (Tom Cross, The Shining Sands, p 169).
Harvey’s choice of subject owes a lot to the work of Stanhope Forbes whose dedication to ‘plein air naturalism’ was a major influence on his work. Like Forbes he constantly made every effort to create works that capture the reality of Cornish life and under his descriptive brush the characters that people his paintings come to life.
Marbles is painted from Newlyn Green looking towards Penzance. Newlyn Green is on the left and in the distance, from left to right, is the Bodilly Steam Flour Mill, the London and Penzance Serpentine Stone Works and the spire of St Mary’s church, Penzance.
We are most grateful to Mr and Mrs Hugh Bedford for this information.
HAROLD HARVEY
Penzance 1874 - 1941 Newlyn
A descendant of considerable Cornish lineage, Harold Harvey was one of the few Newlyn artists to spend his entire life in Cornwall, apart from one brief period abroad. Described in The Studio, 1924, as one of the 'truest and sincerest of British Painters,' his works were considered 'genuine interpretations of place and people', and praised for their success in conveying 'the peculiar and rather wistful geniality of this corner of England'.
He first studied under Norman Garstin, and then went to Paris during the 1890s where he continued his studies at the Academie Julian under Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. On his return, he married Gertrude, who was also an artist, and they settled in Newlyn.
A prolific painter of varied subjects and styles, Harvey never achieved his due critical acclaim. He was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1898-1941 and held several one-man exhibitions in London, at the Mendoza Galleries, Barbizon House and the Leicester Galleries.
Harvey's artistic development reveals an ability to assimilate the changing Newlyn styles. The muted palette of his first works denote an appreciation of the early generation, especially Alexander Stanhope Forbes. he then adopted a more brilliant colours, comparable to the contemporary works produced by Laura Knight. From circa 1915, he painted in an increasingly flatter, decorative style and broadened the range of his subjects which now included sophisticated interior scenes. By the 1920s his figures both in stye and scale betray the influence of Dod Procter.
Essentially a realist painter of local life, Harvey's works reflect above all a deeply felt commitment to his beloved Cornish home.