Explore seascapes from the North Yorkshire Coast,
by Robert Ernest Roe
Robert Ernest Roe (1851 – 1930) was very skilled at painting coastal subjects and his subject matter shows a strong attraction to the coastlines of North Yorkshire and the North East, especially Scarborough. Although not well-known today, Roe was clearly successful in his time, exhibiting four paintings at the fashionable art gallery in ‘Suffolk Street’, home to the Society of British Artists (which became the Royal Society in 1887).
‘Terrific Gale in South Bay, 1860’
Scarborough Art Gallery
Roe displays man’s battle against the elements as Scarborough people stoically pull together to rescue those in peril in the South Bay in a scene from recent history. The dramatic background includes notable architecture including the Victorian Grand Hotel and the Georgian Esplanade and spa bridge. Roe’s focus on the light and weather calls to mind English Romantic artist J. M. W. Turner.
‘Terrific Gale in South Bay, 1860’ is in oil on canvas and measures 122cm (height) x 244cm (width). Paintings on such a large scale would have been expensive and were often produced in response to a specific commission.
Who paid for a work like this?
During the Victorian era, works by fashionable artists were collected by the wealthy, including by the businessmen of the day, and functioned to display wealth, taste and status.
Several paintings by Roe, including ‘Terrific Gale in South Bay, 1860’, were donated to Scarborough Art Gallery in 1896 by the entrepreneurial William Morgan. Morgan had been the manager of Blackpool’s Winter Gardens before moving to Scarborough in 1887 to revive the struggling underground aquarium (later called Gala Land).
Under Morgan’s ownership, the aquarium was successful for several years, declining by the time of World War One. The site is now an underground carpark near the Rotunda Museum, but you can get a glimpse of what it was like from a painting by an unknown artist in Scarborough Art Gallery’s collection. Look at the impressive architecture and floor tiles, and the visitors dressed in their finery and top hats.
‘Staithes’
Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
A number of strong storms have featured in Victorian paintings of this coastline. You can also see a rough sea at ‘Staithes’ in Roe’s painting from the Mercer Art Gallery.
Here, you can see the vulnerability of the village. To the left of this wide canvas, the crooked buildings almost appear to move and buckle under the force of the waves. Fishing boats are thrown around on a choppy sea. Bolder hues for the foreground contrast with much paler hues as the scene recedes, creating depth and a sense of the weather. Painted in oil and canvas, it measures 59.3cm (H) x 105.1cm (W).
At a glance…
Find more seascapes by this artist
‘A Terrific Gale In South Bay, 1860’
Were you surprised by the large size of some of Roe’s paintings?
How did people find out about historic events and news in the past, before televisions and social media were invented? Which type of ‘source’ can you trust the most, a painting or the television?
‘Realism’ is a term used to describe art which looks true to life or nature. How realistic do you think this painting is? Do you think the sea is a good subject to paint?
What aspects of Scarborough look the same today? How would a storm in the south bay look different now?
What season do you think the stormy paintings are most likely to be set in?
What impact do you think a storm like the ‘terrific gale’ will have had on the land? Why? What do you think the scene would look like after the storm had died away?
‘Castle Rock, Scarborough’
Why do you think all the boats are gathered so close together in this painting?
Why do you think Roe decided to use a canvas in portrait orientation this time instead of the more usual landscape?
How does he make us feel like we are in the action in this painting?
How has he used light and shadow to help to show the heaving waves?
How can you tell that this seascape is by the same artist?
Do you like this painting?
‘Staithes’
What do you think is happening in the painting of Staithes?
How can you tell that this seascape is by the same artist? Do you like this painting?
Why do you think Roe has used lighter hues for the cliffs.
Do you like the artworks of Robert Ernest Roe? Why/why not? Which is your favourite?
Vocabulary
Scale: this refers to the size of one object in relation to another object
Orientation: the direction. When discussing the orientation of the canvas or paper, we are referring to the way it is positioned by the artist for the artwork. Portrait orientation refers to a canvas that is taller than it is wide, and landscape orientation refers to a canvas that is wider than it is tall.
In the Classroom
Compare
Explore more storm paintings from Scarborough Art Gallery’s collection, this time focusing on the role of the RNLI elsewhere on the site.
Hotseat
Interview members of the group in role as some of the witnesses of the storm. What did they see? How did they feel? What jobs will they have to do as part of the clean up after the storm?
Create
There are lots of ways to create a stormy seascape. Think about the different media – what about paint or crayon? – and the different ways to capture the swirling waves and stormy sky.
Hands on History
You can explore a range of coastal and maritime paintings at Scarborough Art Gallery and Pannett Art Gallery. Click on the pins on the maps to visit their sites.
Explore other art from the North Yorkshire coast…