Lot 81: John Russell Chancellor (British, 1925-1984) Loading the hay in an Essex creek

Loading the hay in an Essex creek
signed 'John Chancellor' (lower left)
watercolour heightened with white
36.6 x 56.6cm (14 1/2 x 22 5/16in).

LITERATURE :
John Chancellor, The Maritime Paintings of John Chancellor, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1st ed., 1984, pp. 62-65, illustrated.

In this first painting of the series, the barge in the foreground is seen still loading the bagged grain which was usually stowed beneath the hay to give extra stability. Once completed, the rest of the hold would be packed tight with hay up to the top of the coamings and then battened down to allow the building of the stack to begin. The other two barges in the work show different stages of loading.