Yale Center for British Art

Creator:
William Shiels, 1785–1857, British
Title:
Discussing a Catch of Salmon in a Scottish Fishing-Lodge
Date:
ca. 1840
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
38 x 50 3/4 inches (96.5 x 128.9 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1993.30.28
Classification:
Paintings
Collection:
Paintings and Sculpture
Subject Terms:
whip | gloves | wine | furniture | pitcher | portrait | food | woman | cups | trousers | water | windows | basket | spectacles | men | salmon | fishing | fishing lodge | fisherman | servant | fish | bonnet | genre subject | sea | Scottish | drinking glasses | conversation piece | necktie | fishing rods
Associated Places:
Scotland | United Kingdom
Currently On View:
Not on view
Exhibition History:
Love, Life, Death, and Desire: An Installation of the Center's Collections (Yale Center for British Art, 2020-10-01 - 2021-02-28)
Publications:
Christie's (UK), Christie's sale catalogue : Fine Victorian pictures : 25 January 1974, Christie's, London, January 25, 1974, p. 27, lot 94, Christie's sale catalogue 1974 (YCBA)

Judy Egerton, British Sporting and Animal Paintings 1655-1867 : A Catalogue : The Paul Mellon Collection, , Tate Publishing, London, 1978, p. 257, no. 283, pl. 95, ND1383 G7 B75 OVERSIZE (YCBA)

Graham Reynolds, Posing on Four Legs, TLS, the Times Literary Supplement, Issue No. 4072, April 17, 1981, p. 445, Film S748 (SML) Also Available OnLine in TLS Historical Archive (ORBIS)
Gallery Label:
This group of gentlemen has gathered in a rustic fishing lodge in the Scottish Highlands to discuss the day’s catch: a basket of gleaming, iridescent dead salmon. The river visible through the window reveals the source of their sport. At this time, rod fishing for salmon in Scotland’s rivers and lochs—renowned as one of the finest salmon fishing locations in the world—developed as a popular sporting activity. Displayed around them are the tools and trappings of their favored pastime: rods, reels, lines, and hooks. The artist’s delight in rendering the materials around them (fur, hair, silk, feathers, brass, wood, and leather) evokes the tactile, visceral dimension of fishing and the experience of physical connection to nature enjoyed in the pursuit of one’s catch. Gallery label for Love, Life, Death, and Desire: An Installation of the Center's Collections (Yale Center for British Art, 202011-01 – 2021-02-28)
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:1415