A naïve but charming picture of the Scottish Provincial School, the buildings depicted show the characteristic vernacular architecture of many of the harbour villages of the East Neuk of Fife: pantiled roofs, outside staircases and raised gable skews, over a third with corbie or ‘crow-step’ gables. From earliest medieval times this area of Scotland established strong trading and cultural links .with the Low Countries and became well-versed and much influenced by their architecture and building practices. However, we have spoken to Linda Fitzpatrick, Curator at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in .Anstruther and whilst agreeing that this little painting “does seem to have many Scottish features, particularly in the architecture of the buildings with their crow-stepped gables, small windows and outside stairs… the landscape is unlike any Fife village harbours. The arrangements of the buildings, shape of the harbour and position of the trees does not look at all like any of the harbours in the Forth area (even accounting for those that are no longer extant e.g. Buckhaven).” She goes on to suggest that the painting may have been inspired by one of the fishing harbours of the Clyde or possibly the Ayrshire or Solway coasts.

The large horse-drawn wagon parked to the right hand side of the painting is likely a fish-seller’s cart, selling locally caught fish and shellfish to a queue of patient customers. The dress and appearance of the figures shown date it to around the turn of the 20th Century.