A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach

Forbes also spent time in the artists' colonies in villages in Brittany, and his paintings from this period were exhibited at the Royal Academy after he returned to England.

The painting depicts several fishermen and fishwives in traditional dress - the men wearing sou'wester hats, rough jumpers, oilskin trousers, and heavy leather boots.

The work was probably painted on the beach near the old medieval harbour of Newlyn, shortly before the new south and north quays were constructed in 1885-86 and 1888–1894, followed by a new covered fish market that opened in 1908.

Brown in Reigate, it was sold at Christie’s in London on 30 June 1901 and was bought by William Turner.

It was purchased by Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery from William Turner in 1962, and is one of the artist's best-known works.