Southwold Harbour with Boatsheds Moored Vessels Peugeot Car and Cloudy Sky

Title: Southwold Harbour with Boatsheds Moored Vessels Peugeot Car and Cloudy Sky
By Tony Herbert (1927-2024)
Signed: Lower left
Medium: Watercolor on artists paper
Size: 11 x 15 inches
Condition: Good overall; light edge wear to paper corners and slight foxing in lower right, otherwise well preserved
Provenance: From a large private collection of this artists work, Oxford, England

Description: Painted in April 1997, this richly atmospheric watercolour by Tony Herbert (1927–2024) captures a moody day at Southwold Harbour, with heavy cloud cover lending drama to the skies. The scene shows fishing sheds, boats in dry dock, and two parked vehicles — including a red hatchback and a white Peugeot with hand-lettered detail. A red flag flutters just above the sheds, providing a visual accent against the cool palette of greys and browns.

The painting is filled with evocative details: masts and crane arms reach toward the sky, a weathered footbridge cuts diagonally across the foreground, and low tidal water reflects the structures above. The positioning of the vehicles adds a slight 1990s documentary flavour, helping to date the scene beyond the handwritten “April 97” inscription on the verso.

Southwold Harbour has long been a magnet for artists drawn to its practical beauty, timber structures, and working life. This piece, from Herbert’s late period, captures both the grit and poetry of this place in his signature blend of loose wash and controlled linear detail.

For collectors of East Anglian marine painting or British plein air watercolours, this is a standout example — combining narrative, place, and painterly skill in a single, vivid composition.