![Lynn Ferry [Late for the Ferry, King's Lynn, Norfolk], 1892](10.jpg)
Lynn Ferry [Late for the Ferry, King's Lynn, Norfolk] by Robert Walker Macbeth R.A., R.W.S., R.E., R.I., R.O.I. (1848-1910). 1892. Oil on canvas; 41 1/2 x 65 inches (105.4 x 165.1 cm). Private collection. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
The principal version of this subject was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1892, no.551. An earlier and smaller oil version of this work from 1881 is in the collection of Museums Sheffield:
![Lynn Ferry [Late for the Ferry, King's Lynn, Norfolk], 1881](10b.jpg)
Macbeth's 1881 version: Lynn Ferry [Late for the Ferry, King's Lynn, Norfolk]. 1882. Oil on canvas; 14 3/8 x 23 inches (36.5 x 58.4 cm). Collection of Museums Sheffield, accession no. VIS.198, gift from J. G. Graves, 1937.
This earlier version is only 36.5 x 58.4 cm in size, and the palette is noticeably different, with the atmosphere being much more misty. The later, larger version has an extra female figure behind the woman wearing a pack on her shoulders in the left foreground. Yet another version dating from 1882 has the woman carrying a baby on her back, and with her right arm raised trying to alert the ferryman, as the only figure in the foreground. In this version there are no ancillary figures waiting on the dock near the ferryman's hut (This other 1882 version, not shown here, is 47.5 x 65 cm in size and is in the collection of the King's Lynn Museums, accession no. KILLM: 1994.1236).
When the principal version was exhibited at the Royal Academy, F. G. Stephens in The Athenaeum praised both the figures and the atmosphere created: "For the present our notices of Mr. Macbeth's year's work must be confined to Lynn Ferry (551), a brilliant instance of his painting open daylight. The Dutch-like town of Lynn is on the further bank of the river, and from the side nearer to us men and women are rushing along the rough pier to catch the departing ferryboat. The best figure is that of a woman who, as if she were leading them to battle, eagerly calls to her friends to follow her. It is a capital picture of sunlight shining on lively and robustly painted figures in gay costumes, and remarkable for the expansiveness of its atmosphere, the loftiness of the clouds overhead. A smaller version, with minor differences, is in the New Gallery" (574). Stephens later goes on to mention the smaller version when discussing the exhibition at the New Gallery: "Lynn Ferry (261) is a sketch, or reduced rougher version, of a picture at Burlington House similarly named" (575). It is uncertain which of the other two known versions this refers to but most likely to the version now at Museums Sheffield since the other has more than minor differences.
A critic for The Art Journal praised the charm and technical aspects of Macbeth's Alsatian Flower-Stall at the New Gallery while harshly criticising his Lynn Ferry: "The more the pity that on turning back to the Academy we find evidence that this remarkable performance constitutes rather an exception than a solid progress; for the same artist's Lynn Ferry (R.A.), is not only uninteresting and unpictorial as a subject, but open to much criticism as regards the relative proportions of the ungainly figures" (220). The Builder remarked that the Art Union of London "have been fortunate enough to secure the copyright of this year's Academy picture by Mr. W. Robert Macbeth, A.R.A., who is now engaged upon an etching of the work on the commission of the Council. The picture represents the ancient and picturesque town of King's Lynn, seen from across the river, towards which a number of fisher-folk in the foreground are hurrying to catch the last ferry-boat, which waits on the tide below" (339).
Related Material
Bibliography
"The Art Union of London." The Builder LXII (30 April 1892): 339.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine Arts. The Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 3366 (30 April 1892): 569-574.
"The Summer Exhibitions At Home and Abroad. II – The Royal Academy and The New Gallery." The Art Journal LIV (1892): 215-223.
Created 1 June 2023