Watchers on a Beach

RE enjoyed observing the activities of people on the beach, here creating a narrative with the crowd of little figures massed on the shoreline all intently observing something going on out at sea. In the present view there is no indication of what event is being watched, the title of the painting is intentionally ambiguous. In The Rescue, (1971-74, Government Art Collection) a line of observers stand on the seashore watching a lifeboat speeding to the aid of a sinking tanker.

This strange painting is pregnant with expectation. Most of it is a study in emptiness while the other portion is crowded with characters of all sorts. The picture gives me a very intense feeling as if, in his late 60s, Dad was reviewing his own life and all his experiences in a similar but different way from Queen of the Sea which he did in his 50s. Here is depicted all the activity and colourful people that filled his imagination but the pull of the empty sea and sky expresses his inmost soul. I find the fact that this could …

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This strange painting is pregnant with expectation. Most of it is a study in emptiness while the other portion is crowded with characters of all sorts. The picture gives me a very intense feeling as if, in his late 60s, Dad was reviewing his own life and all his experiences in a similar but different way from Queen of the Sea which he did in his 50s. Here is depicted all the activity and colourful people that filled his imagination but the pull of the empty sea and sky expresses his inmost soul. I find the fact that this could be being observed by so many as he drifts away into his own self a very moving image.