Creative Commons License
A Fishmonger's Shop
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In this watercolor, a fishmonger offers his stock to a female customer, who appears to hesitate before choosing among the many types of fish on display. Mullet, mackerel, skate, cod, sea bass, herring, salmon, and gurnard (sea robin) can all be identified in the display. A flounder and a puffer fish hang from the shop front above. In the foreground, a child with a hoop gazes into a tub, probably filled with live carp. Given the variety of seafood on display, it is not surprising to learn that the artist was an enthusiastic fisherman. A version of this work was exhibited to great acclaim at the Old Watercolour Society in London. This is probably the larger version now in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, which is dated to 1872.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
William T. or Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2011 | Setting Sail: Drawings of the Sea from WAM. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1983 | A Connoisseur's Portfolio: Nineteenth-century Drawings and Watercolors in the Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 3/4/1983 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
Geographies
Great Britain (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 7 15/16 x W: 11 15/16 in. (20.2 x 30.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.943