About this artwork

Looking north across the Bagh Bhatarsaigh to Heaval, the highest summit on the Isle of Barra, this image documents a once-thriving herring fishing industry on Vatersay. The fleet is moored in harbour and herring barrels line the pier. Not long after this scene was documented, most of the herring trade shifted to Castlebay before collapsing entirely in the early twentieth century. Today, only the remains of a pier exist at Traigh a Bhaigh, or East Beach. 

Published May 2022

  • artist:
  • title:
    Vatersay, Barra from the West
  • date created:
    1860s - 1880s
  • materials:
    Albumen print
  • measurements:
    18.80 x 28.90 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    The MacKinnon Collection. Acquired jointly with the National Library of Scotland with assistance from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and Art Fund
  • accession number:
    MMK.03775
  • gallery:
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George Washington Wilson

George Washington Wilson