SEASIDE
In our local Northeast and North Yorkshire areas in the UK, we are blessed with many wonderful seaside places to visit and explore; we can access the sandy beaches of Alnmouth and Bamborough on the Northumberland coast or travel by car, bus or rail to larger towns like Whitby and Scarborough. We can visit smaller quaint places; like Saltburn, Sandsend, Runswick and Robin’s Hood Bay which also have amazing views. In this piece I wanted to explore our love of the seaside from Victorian times through art, consider the idea of the beach through literature, film and music and look at the Italian connection with popularity of ice-cream.
ART
The lovely innocent painting above is called, Summer Day, Brighton Beach from c.1909 by Americal impressionist painter, Edward Henry Potthast. This Brighton Beach is near Brooklyn, New Jersey. The painting is relatively small, oil on panel, 30.5 cm high by 40.6cm wide, (12” x 15.9”). This could be a group of independent siblings, a fair-haired boy and three girls hitching up their clothes as they tread carefully in the shallow water. Their faces are turned away from the viewer, as they are intent on navigating the rush of tiny waves that reach the shore.
Notice how the colours of the pale blue-grey sky, tinged with pink echo the reflection of the pink and lilac colours on the glassy, sea-soaked shore. The impressionist technique using free-flowing wide brush strokes, which captures the light conveys the movement of the sea and the summer breeze, which wafts around hair ribbons and clothing.
Potthast painted many seaside scenes of children and ordinary people enjoying the waves and sandy beaches. I find the play of colour, sunlight and subject matter very appealing and relatable. Do you like this image? What feelings does it conjure up in you? Does it provoke any particular seaside memories?
I found several other images which Potthast painted, which I’ve never seen before, mainly from the Edwardian era, but there is a playfulness, a frivolity complete with soothing colours that feel uplifting and completely encapsulate a summer’s day.
I think Potthast is particularly adept at capturing the glassy reflective waves on the seashore, as well as children’s pale, luminous skinny legs, as they splash about tentatively and suffer the first thrill of cool waves. Check out his seaside paintings, such as Beach Scene 1910, At the Seashore, Rockaway Beach 1910 (more for sky and sunlight) and Children Wading 1920 on www.wikiart.org
These seaside scenes remind me of another painting by Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) who was married to the successful portrait artist, Harold Knight, but she enjoyed an extensive and successful career in her own right with her impressionist and realism paintings. The couple had links with Staithes in North Yorkshire which is still popular today with artists. Knight was the first ever female to be elected to the Royal Academy of Art in London in 1936. You can find Dame Laura’s painting entitled, The Beach,1910, at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, (please see their website and always check opening times, fees, etc., before travelling).
A more contemporary painting from 1992 which is set on a b each is; The Singing Butler, by Scottish born Jack Vettriano, (1951-2025) it quickly became iconic and a best-selling print. Vettriano enjoyed a highly successful career and his work has been compared to the American artist Edward Hopper for his use of dark colours, broad brush strokes, nostalgia and film noir subject matter, (see Hopper’s Nighthawks from 1942). Vettriano painted other beach scenes; and adult themes, check out Vettriano’s paintings on his dedicated website; www.jackvettriano.com or see the artwork in his book; Lovers and Other Strangers by Pavilion Books Limited from 2000.
LITERATURE, FILM, DRAMA
In 1996, British writer, Alexander Garland released his debut novel entitled, The Beach which was turned into a highly successful film in 2000 of the same name with Leonardo Di Caprio as the lead, directed by Danny Boyle. This a cautionary adventure about a young backpacker determined to escape the rat-race, to travel and find the perfect beach. Although he finds his utopia living on a remote island in a commune, his idea of paradise quickly evaporates when he has to confront some horrific problems, as well as challenging social relationships and situations. This believable story is set in Thailand, where the scenery is positively stunning and comprises interesting character development; it’s well worth a watch or a second viewing. Alexander Garland turned to screenplay writing and directing the outstanding, highly acclaimed sci-fi thriller, Ex Machina in 2014, with Alicia Vikander as the beautiful, alluring robot – this is an intelligent and thought-provoking piece which may interest you, if you are concerned about lifelike robotics and the current AI debate.
MUSIC
On the Beach is a song released in 1986 written and sung by Chris Rea, from his album of the same name. Chris was born and bred in Middlesbrough and part of the Reas Italian ice-cream family; Chris forged a successful music career lasting decades with his best-selling albums. He had several recognisable hits from the 80s and 90s, including; Fool If You Think It’s Over, Stainsby Girls, Road to Hell, Driving Home for Christmas and Auberge. Are you a Chris Rea fan? Do you have a favourite track of his?
Chris sadly passed away in December 2025. I wanted to mention Chris as so many Italian families (including mine) made their living from selling ice-cream in the UK from the early 1950s onwards. In the Teesside area there were several families alongside the Reas, like Pacitto’s and Greco Brothers (Wafers). This segues nicely into my next theme regarding culture and the Italian connection at the seaside so I can mention, ICE-CREAM!
Sign up to the Newsletter if you want to read the full article about the advent of the seaside for the masses in Victorian Britain, the influx of Italian families and the universal appeal for ice-cream, and the subtle difference with modern-day gelato. References to Pacitto’s Lemon Tops in Marke and Redcar, Suggitt’s Ice-Cream of Great Ayton and Brymor’s Dairy Farm, Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
