Bernard Hailstone was a British artist who became an Official War Artist in 1941. He worked as part of the Ministry of Transport during World War 2. During the war, bad weather conditions over the Atlantic sea made it too dangerous for aircrafts to be flown between North America and Britain, so planes would be taken apart and shipped across the sea in crates.

John Thomas Hamilton Macallum is a Scottish artist, known for his depictions of the sea and the lives of fishermen. In this painting, a group of Lance Fishers have returned home after a long day of catching fish. They are greeted in the shallow water by men pushing a cart, ready to carry their haul back to shore.

Fire was one of the greatest dangers to wooden ships which were often laden with highly combustible cargoes. The ship portrayed here has been devastated by fire and is a total loss. The crew has abandoned ship, making the perilous journey to shore in small lifeboats. Some unlucky crew members cling to the wreckage, awaiting rescue.

By the middle of the nineteenth century a lifeboat service was introduced to the Cornish coast. Like today, they were manned by volunteers. In this painting, a ship in distress lies close to the shore but in stormy seas. A young man has stepped forward to volunteer. Lives may be saved but many lifeboat men died in such dangerous rescues. The young man’s mother pleads with him not to go, scared for his life.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, beaches became popular holiday destinations. Visits to the seaside were medically prescribed by doctors to expose patients to the fresh sea air, giving their lungs a break from the smog and dirt of their busy cities. People still flock to the beach during the summer holidays to play in the sand and splash in the sea. In this painting, a group of ladies pull off their stockings and sunhats, preparing to run into the cool ocean on a hot summer’s day.

This scene of gentle lovers in a peaceful landscape is set in Albury Park, Surrey, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland. It is a companion to the painting 'He Never Came', which is in a private collection. The title could refer to the pond or to human nature, where a calm exterior can conceal a greater depth of emotion.

In this painting a farmer sits by a river and watches his cows drink. During the Industrial Revolution, it became popular to portray life in the countryside as something idyllic. People in the dirty, industrial cities, longed for life in the beautiful countryside. In reality, the work of farmers and poor people in rural areas was very difficult, dangerous, and messy, not at all how it seems in historical paintings.

Smith was a British artist, known for his landscape paintings. In this painting, a man sits on a rock, looking out across a river towards a waterfall. Smith captures the awe-inspiring scale of nature in this painting, portraying humanity as something insignificant in the face of the great waterfall and towering cliffsides.

On the 21st of May 1894, Queen Victoria opened the Manchester Ship Canal. The canal was made to create jobs for the local people, allowing them to buy and sell goods across a longer distance. This painting depicts the crowds gathered to watch the opening ceremony. People stand in the stands and cheer as the Queen’s boat sails by.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery’s building was originally a mansion house called Lark Hill Place, built in the 18th or 19th century by a man named James Ackers. This painting shows Lark Hill Place as it was before it became a museum. Does it look familiar to you?