The Herring Fleet Leaving the Dee, Aberdeen

By 1886 David Farquharson had settled in London but he made frequent visits to Scotland and Scottish subjects continued to dominate his work. When Farquharson painted this work, fishing for herring was fairly new to Aberdeen. This type of sailing boat was gradually replaced by steam-powered boats, so that after World War I the sight of the fleet in full sail was less common. The fishing boats depart from the Albert Basin, in pursuit of shoals of herring which migrate annually from the northern waters of the North Sea. The latter years of the 19th century saw a rapid expansion of the fishing industry at Aberdeen. Every year, tens of thousands of barrels of herring, preserved in brine, were exported to Northern Europe and Russia.

Purchased in 1981 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions and the National Art Collections Fund (Ramsay-Dyce Bequest) and with income from the Jaffrey Fund.