Stade Beach, Hastings

A wonderfully atmospheric watercolour by Henry Robertson ARE (1848–1930) showing fishing boats on the Stade beach at Hastings. One of Britain's oldest fishing ports, the town has boasted a very particular style of sustainable beach-launched fishing for over 1000 years. The boats are hauled onto the shingle beach, the Stade, after each fishing trip, so they are necessarily modest in size, and the resulting inshore fishing practices are ecologically sound. Here Robertson has layered impressionistic washes of colour, punctuated with gem-like bodycolour details; the East Cliff and distant pier are silhouetted against the warm glow of the setting sun. The resulting image is one in which the activities of the fishing industry on the beach are in harmony with the natural landscape around them.