Canterbury-born Sydney Lough Thompson once described the fishing port of Concarneau, in Brittany, France, as having as ‘an irresistible picturesqueness that attracts artists so strongly that it used to be known as the town “of thirty studios and thirty sardine factories”’. Thompson made Concarneau his base for the first time in 1902 and would spend most of the thirty years he lived in France there. Thompson bought Charles Fromuth’s 1904 pastel Dock study with Boats directly from the artist, an American who was so captivated by Concarneau from his arrival in 1890 that he based himself there for the rest of his life. Working almost exclusively in pastel, Fromuth’s enduring focus was on fishing boats, sails and rippling reflections. English painter Terrick Williams also became closely identified with this setting. Evening – Concarneau was one of the first four works from this location he exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, in 1902, the year before it came to Christchurch.

('The Weight of Sunlight, 16 September 2017 - 16 September 2018', where this work was displayed alongside 'Harbour Scene, Evening, Concarneau' by Sydney Lough Thompson and 'Dock study with Boats' by Charles Henry Fromuth.)

Concarneau scene by Thompson

Concarneau scene by Fromuth