Victorian Oil Painting Portrait Cornish Fisherman by David Wood Haddon C1888

🎣 Victorian Nautical One Of the Crew – Cornish Fisherman Oil Painting by David Wood Haddon R.B.A. c1888

🎨 Subject & Medium
Beautiful original late Victorian oil on canvas by David Wood Haddon R.B.A. (1859–1914), titled “One of the Crew”and dated 1888. The work depicts a rugged, weather-worn Cornish fisherman, one of the Newlyn fishing “crew”, pausing quietly with his pipe. The canvas has been laid to panel and is displayed under glass for added protection.

🧭 Composition & Technique
An intimate head-and-shoulders portrait, the fisherman turns slightly to his left, his eyes half-closed as though resting between watches at sea. He wears a patched oilskin sou’wester, blue woollen jumper, deep maroon scarf and a faded pale smock. Strong side-light falls across his face and hat, lifting him out from a rich, dark background so that the figure seems to emerge from shadow.

Haddon’s brushwork is confident and expressive: short, textured strokes around the beard and cheeks convey a ruddy, salt-burned complexion, while more delicate blending around the eyelids suggests a reflective, weary gaze. Warm flesh tones and earthy ochres are offset by cooler sea-blues and greenish notes, perfectly evoking salt air and North Atlantic light.

📚 Historical Significance
Painted in 1888, this portrait sits squarely within the Newlyn School tradition of portraying the real lives of Cornish fishing communities. These characterful “old salt” studies are now prized not only as evocative portraits, but also as visual records of the Victorian fishing industry at its height, when small coastal communities depended almost entirely on the sea.

👨🎨 About the Artist
David Wood Haddon R.B.A. worked between Birmingham and Cornwall and is closely aligned with the Newlyn circle. He exhibited at venues including the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. Haddon became particularly noted for his small, atmospheric portraits of fishermen, sailors and their families. His work appears regularly in British fine-art auctions and is keenly collected by enthusiasts of marine painting and Newlyn School art.

✍️ Signed
The painting is signed in red at the lower right “D. W. Haddon” and dated 1888 on the canvas. The original gilt slip is hand-lettered “ONE OF THE CREW – D. W. HADDON R.B.A.”, supporting its period authenticity and original title.

🖼️ Framed
Housed in a period gilt wooden frame with decorative moulding and inner gilt slip. The work is glazed to the front, which has helped preserve the paint surface, and a hanging wire/chain to the reverse means it is ready to hang immediately. The frame has that gently worn “country house” appearance that complements the subject perfectly.

📏 Dimensions (framed)
Frame: 45 cm x 35 cm x 3.5 cm

🧾 Provenance
Formerly in a private UK collection (details not recorded). Subsequently catalogued and sold at a respected Scottish auction house as “One of the Crew”, oil on canvas, framed and under glass, and later in the stock/collection of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD. Now offered from a private collection. Copies of auction labels or related paperwork can be supplied to the purchaser.

❤️ Why You’ll Love It
✅ A striking late Victorian Newlyn fisherman portrait brimming with character and atmosphere.
✅ Clearly signed and dated 1888 – an authentic period work, not a modern copy.
✅ Versatile size – ideal for a study, office, library, hallway or coastal cottage; easy to place yet visually impactful.
✅ Sits comfortably alongside Newlyn and Cornish works collected by Penlee House supporters in Penzance and by marine-art buyers in Cornwall, Devon, London, New England and other coastal regions.
✅ A timeless “old salt with pipe” image that never fails to spark conversation with clients and guests. 🎣

🔎 Condition
The painting is in good antique condition for its age. There is scattered fine craquelure, light speckling/foxing and a few small age-related marks visible under close inspection and raking light – entirely typical for a 19th-century oil painting under glass. No obvious tears or structural problems, and it presents very well.

The period gilt frame shows expected age-related wear: minor knocks, surface scratches, rubbing to high points and small losses to the moulding. It remains solid, decorative and full of antique charm. Please review all photos carefully as they form an important part of the description.