George Barret the Younger

Although Ventnor, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, is

famous as one of England’s warmest and sunniest towns, this

watercolor presents its rocky beach shrouded by heavy gray clouds.

The artist, George Barret the Younger, specialized in dawn and

sunset scenes, frequently painting the same locale at various times

of day to perfect his understanding of light, climate, and color. No

other views of this spot are known, but it is one of many products

of Barret’s 1821 sketching tour of the Isle of Wight. At that time,

Ventnor remained an isolated place, but the arrival of the railway

in 1866 sparked commercial development and transformed it into

a popular destination for Victorian tourists.