This painting, which was shown at the Royal Academy in 1888, is one of the outstanding examples in any public collection of depictions of the life and work of fishermen and fishergirls on the Northumberland coast. Robert Jobling was born in Newcastle and worked in a glass factory and the shipyards before, at the age of 27, deciding to become a professional artist. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities to exhibit and sell work on Tyneside, he was one of the driving forces behind the formation of local art societies, including the Borough of Tynemouth Art Club, which held its first exhibition in 1883. He lived in Delaval Road, Whitley Bay, then Beverley Terrace in Cullercoats. By 1893 he was married to his second wife Isabella Jobling née Thompson, who was also a respected artist, and living in Victoria Avenue, Whitley Bay.