to Buy a Picture

For some years I have had an interest in the artist James Charles (1851-1906)  This originally came about because I inherited one of his pictures.

Two or three of his pictures come up for sale each year and I can be tempted to purchase one.

So this small picture arrived yesterday. It is almost dwarfed by its frame.

It is now entitled "Fisherman on the Shore" but was originally incorrectly named by the auctioneer.  The village in the background is Bosham in Sussex.  We know that because of the readily identifiable Church tower in the background.  The picture was painted in about 1888 or 1889 and again I know that because the artist was living in Bosham at the time.
(discovered from the 1891 census)

There had been a windmill in the village of Bosham but that was demolished in about 1887.  So that pins the date down quite nicely because there is no windmill depicted in the picture.

These old pictures carry much hidden information with them!