Norman Garstin (1847-1926) stands as a significant, if sometimes overlooked, figure in late 19th and early 20th-century British and Irish art. An artist of diverse talents and experiences, he was a pivotal member of the Newlyn School, a painter whose work gracefully bridged Victorian sensibilities with emerging modern influences, particularly Impressionism. His life was one of travel, intellectual curiosity, and a deep engagement with the artistic currents of his time, leaving behind a body of work celebrated for its atmospheric charm, subtle coloration, and keen observation of everyday life.
Early Life and Unconventional Paths
Born on August 28, 1847, in Caherconlish, County Limerick, Ireland, Norman Garstin's early life did not immediately point towards a career in the arts. His initial interests and pursuits were varied, reflecting a restless and inquisitive mind. He explored fields such as engineering and architecture, professions that perhaps honed his eye for structure and composition, qualities that would later subtly inform his painting.
His adventurous spirit led him to South Africa, where he engaged in the speculative and often harsh world of diamond prospecting. This period, though far removed from the art studios of Europe, likely provided him with a wealth of human experience and a broadened perspective on life. Anecdotes from his youth paint a picture of an introspective individual, often lost in books, sometimes perceived as eccentric, and notably unconcerned with conventional appearances. This inherent individualism would become a hallmark of his artistic career, allowing him to forge his own path rather than strictly adhering to academic norms.
However, the pull of art proved irresistible. Garstin eventually abandoned his commercial ventures, recognizing that his true vocation lay in painting. This decision marked a significant turning point, setting him on a course that would lead him to the major art centers of Europe and, ultimately, to the vibrant artistic community in Cornwall.
Artistic Formation: Antwerp and Paris
To formalize his artistic inclinations, Garstin sought training at prestigious institutions. He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, a city with a rich artistic heritage, particularly known for its strong tradition of draughtsmanship and painterly realism, heavily influenced by masters like Peter Paul Rubens. This foundational training would have provided him with essential technical skills.
Crucially, Garstin then moved to Paris, the undisputed capital of the art world in the 19th century. There, he studied at the atelier of Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran. This was a formative experience. Carolus-Duran was a highly respected portraitist and teacher, known for encouraging a direct, painterly approach, often citing the influence of Spanish masters like Diego Velázquez. His studio attracted many international students, including the famed American painter John Singer Sargent, who became one of its most illustrious alumni.
In Paris, Garstin was immersed in an environment buzzing with revolutionary artistic ideas. Impressionism, which had scandalized the establishment in the 1870s, was by the 1880s becoming a more understood, if still debated, force. Artists like Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were transforming the way light, color, and fleeting moments were depicted. Garstin also established contact with Edgar Degas, one of the most innovative figures associated with Impressionism, known for his dynamic compositions and insightful portrayals of modern life. This exposure to Impressionist principles, with its emphasis on plein air (open-air) painting and capturing transient effects, profoundly shaped Garstin's developing style.
Furthermore, Garstin, like many of his contemporaries, became fascinated by Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The influence of Japonisme was widespread, with artists admiring the bold compositions, flattened perspectives, decorative patterns, and everyday subject matter of artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige. Another significant influence was the American expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler, whose tonal harmonies, aesthetic sensibilities, and own absorption of Japanese art resonated with Garstin's evolving artistic vision. Whistler's emphasis on mood and atmosphere over narrative detail was a key element that Garstin would incorporate into his own work.
Newlyn: An Artistic Haven in Cornwall
In 1886, Norman Garstin made a decision that would define a major chapter of his artistic life: he settled in Newlyn, a fishing village on the coast of Cornwall in southwest England. By this time, Newlyn was rapidly becoming a magnet for artists seeking to escape the industrialization of cities and the rigid conventions of the Royal Academy in London. They were drawn by Cornwall's dramatic coastal scenery, the unique quality of its light, the picturesque fishing communities, and the relatively low cost of living.
Garstin quickly became an integral and influential member of what became known as the Newlyn School. This was not a formal institution with a manifesto, but rather a colony of artists who shared similar artistic aims. They were largely committed to plein air painting, realism, and depicting the everyday lives and labours of the local fishing community. Leading figures already established or soon to arrive included Stanhope Forbes, often considered the "father" of the Newlyn School, his wife Elizabeth Forbes (née Armstrong), Frank Bramley, Walter Langley, Thomas Cooper Gotch, and Henry Scott Tuke.
The Newlyn artists, Garstin among them, often held a somewhat antagonistic stance towards the Royal Academy, preferring the direct observation of nature and contemporary life to the historical or mythological subjects favored by the academic establishment. Garstin's intellectual acuity and cosmopolitan background made him a respected voice within the community. He was not only a painter but also a thinker and, later, a teacher, contributing significantly to the artistic discourse of the colony.
Artistic Style: A Synthesis of Light, Mood, and Observation
Norman Garstin's artistic style is characterized by its subtlety, its gentle lyricism, and its sophisticated understanding of light and atmosphere. While rooted in the observational realism championed by the Newlyn School, his work is distinctly infused with the lessons he learned from Impressionism and Whistler.
His subject matter predominantly comprised landscapes, coastal scenes, village life, and genre scenes. He had a particular talent for capturing the nuanced effects of weather and time of day. Unlike some of the more overtly social realist painters of the Newlyn School, Garstin's focus was often more on the poetic and atmospheric qualities of a scene. His palette tended towards soft, harmonious colors, and his brushwork, while descriptive, often had a delicate, almost feathery quality that conveyed a sense of immediacy and light.
The influence of Japanese prints can be discerned in some of his compositions, particularly in their sometimes unconventional cropping, flattened sense of space, and decorative arrangement of forms. Whistler's impact is evident in Garstin's pursuit of tonal unity and his ability to evoke a specific mood, often one of quiet contemplation or gentle melancholy. He was less interested in dramatic narrative and more in the subtle interplay of light, color, and human presence within a specific environment. His street scenes, often populated by figures going about their daily business, are rendered with a quiet dignity and an eye for the picturesque.
Representative Works: Capturing Fleeting Moments
Several paintings stand out as representative of Norman Garstin's artistic achievements and stylistic concerns.
Perhaps his most famous work is The Rain It Raineth Every Day (1889, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance). This iconic painting depicts the promenade in Penzance on a wet, windswept day. A line of figures with umbrellas huddles against the elements, their forms slightly blurred by the driving rain. The painting is a masterful study in atmosphere, capturing the dampness, the grey light, and the movement of the wind with remarkable skill. The high viewpoint and the diagonal recession of the promenade show an awareness of Impressionist compositional devices, possibly influenced by artists like Gustave Caillebotte or Degas. The title, taken from a song in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, adds a touch of literary melancholy. The work was widely acclaimed for its truthfulness to nature and its evocative mood.
Another significant painting is Her Signal (circa 1892). This work portrays a young woman standing on a quayside, looking out to sea, presumably awaiting the return of a boat. The painting explores themes of anticipation and perhaps anxiety, common in communities reliant on the sea. While it depicts a narrative moment, the emotional tone is one of quiet introspection. Some contemporary critics found it emotionally cool, lacking the overt sentimentality sometimes favored at the time, but it demonstrates Garstin's skill in conveying subtle psychological states through posture and setting. The careful rendering of light on the water and the distant horizon showcases his refined technique.
Other notable works include St. Cuthbert's Church, which captures the architectural subject with a sensitivity to its historical presence and the surrounding atmosphere, and The Bird's Nest, which, like many of his genre scenes, focuses on simple, everyday moments imbued with a quiet charm. His market scenes and depictions of village streets in Cornwall and during his travels in France further illustrate his ability to find beauty and interest in the ordinary.
A Cosmopolitan Outlook: Travels and Teaching
Norman Garstin was not an artist confined solely to Cornwall. His intellectual curiosity and artistic drive led him to travel extensively throughout his career. He made painting trips to France, particularly Brittany, which, like Cornwall, attracted artists with its distinct culture and picturesque scenery. It was during a summer sketching trip in Brittany with his family that he met the Irish artist May Guinness, another painter who absorbed modern French influences.
He also journeyed to Italy, Morocco, and North America. These travels undoubtedly enriched his visual vocabulary and provided him with fresh subject matter. His Moroccan scenes, for example, allowed him to explore different qualities of light and color, and to depict cultures distinct from those of Europe. This cosmopolitanism distinguished him and added a broader dimension to his work, preventing it from becoming parochially focused.
Back in Newlyn, Garstin played an important role as an educator. He was one of the founders, alongside Elizabeth Forbes, of the Newlyn Art School (formally the Newlyn School of Painting). He was a respected teacher, and his guidance helped shape a younger generation of artists. His broad knowledge of European art and his articulate understanding of artistic principles made him an effective mentor. He is said to have encouraged his students to develop their own individual styles rather than merely imitating his own. This commitment to teaching demonstrates his dedication to the vitality and continuation of the artistic community he had helped to foster. He also contributed to art criticism, writing for publications like The Studio, further disseminating his ideas on art.
Connections with Contemporaries
Throughout his career, Garstin maintained connections with a wide array of artists. His Parisian training brought him into contact with figures like Edgar Degas and the circle around Carolus-Duran. His admiration for James McNeill Whistler and Édouard Manet, though perhaps not involving direct personal mentorship in the case of Manet, indicates his alignment with progressive artistic trends.
Within the Newlyn School, he was a respected colleague of Stanhope Forbes, Frank Bramley, Walter Langley, and others. While each artist in Newlyn pursued their individual vision, there was a shared sense of purpose and mutual support. Garstin's more intellectual and perhaps more internationally-inflected style offered a complementary perspective to the often more robustly English realism of some of his peers.
His involvement with organizations like the New English Art Club (NEAC), which he likely joined, provided another avenue for exhibiting his work alongside other forward-thinking British artists who sought alternatives to the Royal Academy. The NEAC was a crucial platform for artists influenced by French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, including figures like Philip Wilson Steer and Walter Sickert.
Personal Life and Character
Norman Garstin's personal life was marked by the same intellectual curiosity and unconventional streak that characterized his early years. He married and had three children. His eldest son, Crosbie Garstin, became a well-known novelist and adventurer, his life filled with exploits that perhaps echoed his father's own youthful restlessness. Crosbie's writings sometimes offered affectionate and humorous glimpses into his father's character, describing him as possessing a typically Irish wit and a somewhat rebellious spirit.
The anecdote about Garstin's work being considered "too French" by the Royal Academy, and thus sometimes rejected, highlights the conservative nature of the British art establishment at the time, as well as Garstin's commitment to his own artistic principles, which were informed by his continental experiences. Despite such occasional setbacks, he continued to exhibit regularly, including at the Royal Academy, the Royal Hibernian Academy, and various other galleries in Britain and abroad.
His friends and colleagues remembered him as a charming and articulate companion, a man of culture and refined taste. His home in Newlyn was reportedly a place of lively discussion and artistic exchange.
Later Years and Enduring Legacy
Norman Garstin continued to paint and exhibit into the 20th century, adapting to changing artistic tastes while remaining true to his core aesthetic values. He passed away on June 22, 1926, in Penzance.
His legacy is multifaceted. As a key member of the Newlyn School, he contributed significantly to one of the most important regional art movements in British art history. His paintings offer a unique and sensitive portrayal of life in Cornwall and other places he visited, characterized by their atmospheric beauty and subtle emotional depth. His role as a teacher ensured that his influence extended to subsequent generations of artists.
While perhaps not achieving the same level of widespread fame as some of his contemporaries like Stanhope Forbes or later Impressionist-influenced British painters, Norman Garstin's work is increasingly appreciated for its quality and its distinctive blend of influences. He remains an important figure for understanding the cross-currents of British and Irish art at a time of significant transition, an artist who successfully synthesized the observational traditions of realism with the innovative approaches to light and color pioneered by the Impressionists, all filtered through his own unique and poetic sensibility. His paintings continue to charm and engage viewers with their quiet elegance and their evocative portrayal of a world captured with a painter's discerning eye and a poet's gentle touch.
