David Davies: On to Cornwall

 

"St. Ives, Cornwall" by David Davies

"During the latter part of David Daviews' sojourn in Australia, he moved from Templestowe to Cheltenham, and there, for the time being, he painted full daylight subjects, mostly concerned with sky and clouds, carried according to the prevailing weather, and indifferently poised above land or sea. Initially a recorder of inland scenes, he now turned his attention to the water and its capricious behaviour when influenced by wind, sky and the time of day; and this eventually became his main interest.

In 1896 he left for England, and arriving there went to live in Cornwall, where he stayed for twelve years. Cornwall was then becoming known as a working ground for artists, and the Newlyn school was already well founded. Davies, however, settled on the northern side of the peninsula, and lived successively at St. Ives, Lelant, Carbis Bay, Newquay and Tintagel.

In those days Cornwall was not so visitor ridden. As in the case of many other famous holiday places, it was discovered to the world by artists, whose proclamation of its beauties made invasion by the Philistines a foregone conclusion, and in this way they actually, though innocently, were the spearhead of penetration of this quiet and lovely duchy, and the natives, with righteous, indiscriminate resentment, did their best to make things uncomfortable for those who raised for them the rent of net lofts (which were turned into studios), the rent of houses, and the prices of all things. On the beach, on more than one occasion, painters were attacked by fishermen, who used their catch as missiles, in some cases doing considerable damage to their victims' faces. However, by the time this century had arrived not much of this animosity,  the accompaniment of an irksome transitional period, was left."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art and Life of David Davies" by James MacDonald.)