Lot 123: Three large expressionist oil paintings on board depictingNorth Shields maritime and fishing industry scenes - Displayed in the Low Lights Museum 1992

A trio of expressionist oil on board paintings focusing on the commercial fishing industry In North Shields. Two works are horizontal compositions detailing the manual preparation of fish. The first depicts a pair of tattooed hands using a knife to fillet a flatfish on a mustard-yellow board, set against a background of dark, turbulent waters and distant vessels (photo 1). The second work shows a similar close-up scene at night or dusk, featuring a tray of silver fish and fishing boats moored in a harbour (photo 3). The third painting is a vertical composition showing a group of fishermen at work on a deck; a central figure in a white vest with arm tattoos carries a large whole fish over his shoulder, while others manage nets and crates in the foreground against a harbour backdrop with distant hills (photo 6). All three pieces are executed with a heavy impasto technique and a somber palette punctuated by saturated highlights. No signatures, monograms, or maker’s marks are visible on the front of the boards.