Original Watercolour Aldeburgh Fishing Quay Scene with Lobster Pots and Market

Title: Original Watercolour Aldeburgh Fishing Quay Scene with Lobster Pots and Market
By Tony Herbert (1927-2024)
Signed: Bottom right
Medium: Watercolor on artists paper
Size: 9.75 x 13.5 inches
Condition: Good overall; minor corner wear and subtle warping to paper edge
Provenance: From a large private collection of this artists work, Oxford, England

Description: This richly detailed watercolour by Tony Herbert captures the character and activity of Aldeburgh’s fishing quay, painted in May 1998 during the late afternoon. The scene is alive with figures — fishermen, traders, and townsfolk — gathered around lobster pots, crates, and sheds. The mood is casual but industrious, suggesting the daily rhythm of a working coastal town winding down under the fading light.

The composition is anchored by vivid orange lobster pots to the lower right and the play of colour in the various crates and clothing. Herbert’s watercolour technique is loose yet purposeful, capturing the essence of place and moment with efficient brushstrokes. Earthy tones in the sand and structure contrast with bursts of red, blue, and yellow — visual shorthand for life and livelihood on the Suffolk coast.

Aldeburgh has long been associated with the arts and seafaring traditions, making this painting especially resonant for collectors drawn to British maritime subjects, plein air realism, and regional coastal scenes. This particular work — noted as being painted during “Later Afternoon” — showcases Herbert’s sensitivity to atmosphere and time of day.