See Artists A-Z
Harbour with Three Boats
Enlarge
? By permission of the Maxwell Family.

Reference URL

Harbour with Three Boats 1934
  • Scottish Art
Maxwell was influenced by primitive art and the work of Paul Klee. The artist helped to organise a Klee exhibition in Edinburgh in the same year as this work was painted. In common with these influences, Maxwell's own art shows a disregard for perspective, a directness, and a selective approach to detail. Maxwell?s painting of this time shares many similarities with the work of William Gillies. They went on painting excursions together and often depicted similar subjects. This painting depicts a Fife fishing village and shows Maxwell?s skilful and playful draughtsmanship.

Glossary Open

Draughtsmanship

The ability to draw skilfully, often refers to technical drawing.

Perspective

The principle of representing depth on a flat surface so that items further away from the eye appear smaller and parallel lines appear to converge.

Primitive

A term once used to describe the art of non-Western cultures such as Africa and Oceania, now generally seen as deprecatory and indicative of an outdated belief in Western superiority. It is also used to describe artists, usually self-taught, who work outside of the currents of mainstream art practice.

Draughtsmanship, Perspective, Primitive

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 3342
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Size 71.30 x 87.70 cm
  • Credit George and Isobel Neillands Collection: presented 1987

See related artworks

Part of

Scottish Art