In 1901 Norman Garstin, a fellow Newlyn based artist, published an appreciative article on the achievements of Stanhope Forbes:
“…no one has done so much to hold the little community of Newlyn together as Mr. Stanhope Forbes…His nature is an unusual compound of enthusiasm and scepticism, of strong opinions and generous deference to the ideas of others, the whole blended and kept sane and wholesome by an unfailing sense of humour.”
Forbes had already acquired the title of ‘Father of the Newlyn School’ though this he rejected – ‘The Newlyners are followers of no one – simply a body of artists who paint in the open air’. Nevertheless there is no doubt that his success as an artist was dependent upon his relationship with the Newlyn people. By 1901 Forbes had lived and worked in the Cornish fishing village of Newlyn for some seventeen years and was committed to painting carefully observed scenes of everyday work and leisure:
“I soon stumbled upon Newlyn, a village which seemed the very object of my search. Here every corner was a picture, and, more important from the point of view of the figure-painter, the people seemed to fall naturally into their places, and to harmonise with their surroundings.
“For a beauty lies as much in the light, the atmosphere which surrounds all things, as in their actual form and fashion. There is nothing which cannot be transformed by the effect under which it is seen. Furthermore every common thing, every aspect of nature has a beauty of its own. That which might seem awkward and rough, suited as it is to the conditions of its life, and in harmony with its surroundings, may be most beautiful. And in those persons or forms which cannot be said to be beautiful there is much of importance. The hard lines which care and toil have left upon them, the awkwardness induced by want of culture, the many signs which tell of the hardships of poverty all these are there and should be faithfully recorded; for without them the study is half told and its value lost. Seen and understood in manner, many things are to be found full of meaning.”
Despite his declared aim of working in the open air, Forbes also painted a number of interior scenes such as The Village Philharmonic, 1888 and By Order of the Court, 1890. Reading the News, although in some respects similar to these earlier works, was also a new departure. Whilst he was not in the least interested in painting ‘historic’ events, the death of Queen Victoria presented Forbes with a unique opportunity to combine portraiture, everyday life and history within a single composition. The location has been identified as Primrose Cottage, Newlyn, and the sitters as the Hichens family and two others. All were friends of the artist but appear completely engrossed as the momentous news is read out. Through an otherwise everyday breakfast scene, Forbes has evoked the affection in which the Queen was held, even in the remotest communities. The poignancy of the moment is enhanced by the gentle light falling from a single window upon the family and their simple homely possessions. Victoria had died on the 21st January, 1901 but in an age before television, radio and the internet many outside of the larger towns and cities would not have known until at least the following day. For these people, newspapers were the only source of national news other than word-of-mouth. Here Forbes commemorates the sense of loss experienced by a population who, for the most part, had known no other British sovereign.