David Gentleman’s Coastline published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1988 is one in a series of art travelogues by David Gentleman featuring Britain, British coastlines, Italy, Paris and India.
Britain enjoys a remarkably varied coastline for such a relatively small country and Gentleman has produced a wonderful cross-section of paintings, ink and pencil drawings to capture the essence of the landscape.
From popular seaside towns to wild and rugged coastlines or heavily industrialised ports, Gentleman captures most of it. For a country not known for its tropical climate and exotic beaches any day of sunshine combined with a view of the sea brings out the crowds of locals and day trippers, perhaps none more so than Blackpool in England’s north west. Gentleman wrote: ‘I had expected Blackpool to be crowded, brash, vulgar, ugly and rackety; and so it was. But I hadn’t expected also to be stylish, interesting, lively, old-fashioned and curiously touching’
Gentleman spent two years travelling to Britain’s more secluded areas of coastline, particularly in the north and west of Scotland, a place rich in history and the beauty of its lochs. His diary notes of these places give an added dimension to his paintings, his descriptions are refreshingly honest, parts of Britain’s coastal towns have been allowed to degrade over recent decades and few places show the north-south divide better than a place near wholly dependent on the sea for its prosperity. The decline in our fishing and manufacturing industries has lead to a tangible downturn in the lives of the people whose livelihoods have been impacted by outsourcing and modernisation.
That said, these places despite their lack of investment still offer much; history is never far away, much of the coastline was witness to invading forces over centuries past as well as ports of departure for England’s conquering armies. From pirates coves to the earliest churches, Gentleman portrays a country whose history vastly outweighs its physical size.
This is a lovely timepiece of Britain in the 1980s but it still holds up today, Gentleman serves us a reminder of what Britain’s coastline has to offer, he describes the small harbour fronts with the few remaining small fishing boats, ancient abbeys and castles perched on high, stunning rock outcrops and Victorian piers. It’s a difficult book to put down.
See also
Categories: David Gentleman, The Reading Room
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