The other weekend we were in Scarborough, up by the castle.
I happened to wander down a little side street, heading towards the cliff top,
when I came across a blue plaque honouring a name I recognised – John Atkinson
Grimshaw.
Scarborough Bay
Grimshaw was a Leeds born artist from the second half of the
19th century who specialised in painting in a photo-realistic style
delighting in shadow and reflection, often in city scapes. Even now I can
remember the Grimshaw print hanging in the doctor’s surgery waiting room when I
was 5 or 6 years old (although at that age I didn’t know the artist’s name).
Autumn Afterglow
Grimshaw's primary influence was the Pre-Raphaelites. True
to the Pre-Raphaelite style, he created landscapes of accurate colour,
lighting, vivid detail and realism. His skill was working with a variety of
light sources, in capturing the mood of the passing of twilight into night. After
visiting Grimshaw, Whistler remarked that "I considered myself the
inventor of Nocturnes until I saw Grimmy's moonlit pictures."
Autumn Morning
Salterhouse Dock, Liverpool
