Gone Fishing - at a picnic in 1754 Annapolis, Maryland

Fishing in the British American colonies was a social sport, & the outcome was as unpredictable then as it is nowadays. This poem appeared in the 1754 Maryland Gazette about preparing a list of items to take on a picnic & fishing trip on the Severn River in Annapolis.

18C English woodcut

Six bottle of wine, right old, good and clear;
a dozen at least, of English strong Beer:
Six quarts of good Rum, to make Punch and Grogg
(the latter a Drink that’s now much vogue)
some Cyder, if sweet, would not be amiss:
Of Butter Six pounds, we can’t do with less.

A tea Kettle, Tea, and all the Tea Geer,
To treat the Ladies and also small Beer.
Sugar, Lemons, a Strainer, likewise a Spoon;
Two China Bowls to drink out of at Noon:
A large piece of Cheese, a Table Cloth too,
A sauce-pan, two Dishes, and a Corkscrew:
Some Plates, Knives and Forks, Fish Kettle or pot,
And pipes and Tobacco must not be forgot:
A frying pan, Bacon or Lard for to Fry:
a tumbler and Glass to use when we’re dry
A hatchet, some Matches, a Steel and a Flint,
Some touch-wood, or Box with good tinder in’t.
some vinegar, Salt, some Parsley and Bread
or else Loaves of Pone to eat in it’s stead:
and for fear of bad Luck at catching of Fish
Suppose we should carry- A READY DRESSED DISH

Gone Fishing - in 1600s England

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) Angling

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) River Fishing

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) Salmon Fishing

Gone Fishing in the Caribbean - Winslow Homer 1836–1910

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Shark Fishing

During the 1880s, Winslow Homer vacationed in Florida, and the Caribbean, where he produced dazzling watercolors of people struggling with the sea & its creatures.  Strong men here challenge the ocean's overwheming power; but in the end, the timeless ocean would survive.  The strong, clever fishermen would die passing the task on to the next generation.

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Hauling in anchor Key West

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) The Gulf Stream

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Rum Cay

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The Conch Divers

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  West India Divers

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Done in the Bahamas (Fragment)

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The Water Fan

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Sponge Fishing (1885)

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  After the Hurricane, Bahamas

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  Fishing Boats, Key West

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Sponge Fishermen, Bahamas 1885

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The Sponge Diver 1898–99

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Market Scene Nassau 1885

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  Key West, Hauling Anchor 1903

Gone Fishing in 19C America - Winslow Homer 1836–1910

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) The Angler

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)  A Good One

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  An Unexpected Catch

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  Bass Fishing Florida  1890

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  Boy Fishing 1892

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  Casting, Number Two 1894

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910)  The Rise 1900

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) A quiet pool on a sunny day

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Casting in the Falls (1889)

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Casting

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Crab Fishing

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Playing a Fish

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Hauling in the Nets

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Spearing Eels

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The Herring Net 1885

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The lobster pot

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) The Lone Fisherman

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836–1910) Trout Fishing, Lake St. John, Quebec (1895)

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Three Boys in a Dory with Lobster Pots

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Man in a Punt Fishing

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Playing Him

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Quananiche Lake St John

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Two Men in a Canoe

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Fishing in the Adirondacks

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)

Women & Children in Small Boats by Henri Lebasque 1865-1937

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Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Promenade Sur L'Eau 1918

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) A Fishing Expedition 1920

Some of my favorite portraits of women & children outdoors are by Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937).  He was born in Champigné, France; and by 1885, he was studying in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Here Lebasque met Camille Pissarro & Auguste Renoir. Lebasque maintained an intense artistic exchange with young painters, especially Vuillard & Bonnard, the founders of the artists' associations "Les Nabis" (the prophets) & the "Intimists." In 1903, together with his friend Henri Matisse & other artists, Henri Lebasque founded the "Salon d'Automne," where Georges Rouault, André Derain, Edouard Vuillard and Henri Matisse exhibited. In 1924, Henri Lebasque moved to Le Cannet on the French Riviera. His portrayals of women & their children are colorful & intimate, full of the hope & joy of life.

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Young Girls in a Boat c 1900

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Girl in a Boat

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Girls in a Boat

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) On the Banks of the Seine in Andelys

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Fishing Party 1915

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Promenade En Barque

Henri Lebasque (French artist, 1865-1937) Boat on the Marne