Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
153.5 × 123.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of J. S. Gotch Esq., 1884
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
In the summer of 1883, Thomas and Caroline Gotch stayed at Newlyn, on the Cornish coast. While Mrs Gotch recovered from the birth of the couple’s daughter, their only child, Phyllis, Thomas indulged in his love of painting out of doors. Mental arithmetic, in which an elderly fisherman quizzes the young girl who has brought him a cup of tea, is strongly influenced by the plein air naturalism of Jules Bastien-Lepage, whose style Gotch had absorbed while studying art in Paris. Newlyn became a key centre of plein air painting in England.
Place/s of Execution
Newlyn, England
Inscription
inscribed in black paint l.r.: T. C. Gotch. 1883-
Accession Number
p.309.5-1
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
baskets (containers) children (people by age group) fishermen (people) girls jugs (vessels) men (male humans) tea (beverage) teacups
Provenance
Collection of the artist's cousin, John Speechly Gotch Esq (1829–1901), Melbourne, 1883; by whom donated to the NGV, 1884.
Exhibited Fletcher’s Art Gallery (dealer), Melbourne, 1884; Victorian Social Conscience, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1976, no. 28