25/02/2025
Goole artist’s paintings reunited after 45 years
Goole Museum has a large collection of paintings by the Pierhead Painter Reuben Chappell who was born, lived and worked in the town until 1904, when he relocated to the port of Par in Cornwall to continue his work.
All of Chappell’s works were painted for captains and crews of the many vessels that docked in both ports who wanted portraits of their ships. In his lifetime it is reckoned he painted over 12,500 ship portraits. Many of the surviving paintings remain with the families of these old sailors, and Goole Museum often have visits from people who want to know more about the artist who painted for their fathers, grandfathers or great-grandfathers.
The Museum was recently contacted by Goole resident Barbara Ecborough about a pair of “Fair” and “Foul” watercolours of the schooner Mount Blairy of Plymouth, which were painted in 1925 for Stanley Marshall, a 21-year-old deckhand from Hull.
Marshall met Reuben Chappell on the dockside at Par Harbour in Cornwall and accepted Chappell’s offer to produce portraits of his ship. Chappell, as usual, asked if he wanted the ship in a calm (Fair) or rough (Foul) sea and Stanley said he wanted both. After he’d purchased the paintings a couple of days later, Stanley carefully rolled them up in oilskins and put them away in a drawer.
In 1969 Stanley, now retired from a life at sea and living in Airmyn, heard a Reuben Chappell exhibition was to be held in Goole Library. He remembered he’d bought two paintings all those years ago and found them still rolled up in a drawer. He had them framed and gave them to two of his daughters, Barbara and Gwyneth. The story of the newly discovered paintings made it into the Goole Times on 27 December 1969.
Barbara, who has the “Foul” painting, attended a talk on Reuben Chappell by Goole Museum Curator Dr. Alex Ombler in August 2024, and then contacted the Museum to see if we could make copies of the two paintings and a newspaper cutting from 1969 about their discovery.
In November 2024, the two paintings were reunited at Barbara’s house in Goole where her sister Gwyneth had brought her “Fair” version from her home in Doncaster. Museum Custodian Richard Young was invited to visit and photograph the two works together.
Richard said, “After chatting to Barbara and Gwyneth it’s clear they dearly love their “Reuben Chappells”, and the paintings provide a wonderful link to the memory of their father.
‘’This story of two of his paintings clearly shows how several Reuben Chappell’s surviving works are still cherished by the families and descendants of the sailors who commissioned them many years before. We are always interested in hearing people’s stories about him and if you own a Reuben Chappell painting or have a story to tell about him, we’d love to hear from you.”
Councillor Nick Coultish, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: ‘’What a fantastic story, to hear of these paintings by a local Goole artist reunited after 45 years is truly wonderful.
‘’Our community has a strong connection to the docks and seafaring, it’s great to know that people can stop by Goole Museum to learn more about their rich history, possibly contributing some stories of their own.’’
The Goole Museum’s collection of Reuben Chappell’s works is on public display and can be viewed Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 9am – 4pm. Entry is free.
There is also a Reuben Chappell Art Trail around Goole and copies of the accompanying booklet can be picked up at the Museum.
For more information about Goole Museum and to get in touch please visit: https://eryc.link/goolemuseum
