The setting sun casts reflections on the wet sand as the people of the North-East fishing community of Cullercoats trudge home. The tow main figures are fishwives, one carrying a fish basket, and the other a load of seaweed. At the top of the slipway we see the Lifeboat Lookout House with it’s tall tower.

Robert Jobling painted this picture during the time he was a member of the Cullercoats Colony of artists. The title of his painting is a quotation from the poem The Day is Done by the American writer Henry Longfellow, published 1844. These are the first two verses:

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me
That my soul cannot resist.

Provenance: Gift from Mrs R. Robson, 1931

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: Robert Jobling (1841–1923)
Date: 1886

Image Details
Date: 15 April 2023
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/37s
ISO: 400
Licensing: Image of a North East Museums asset. This image cannot be licensed.