Grace Darling (1815-1842) and her father William Darling (d.1865) save the Survivors from the Wreck...

William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890). Oil painting on canvas, Grace Darling (1815-1842) and her Father William Darling (d.1865) save the Survivors from the Wreck of the Steamer 'Forfarshire' on the Farne Rocks, 7th September 1838 by William Bell Scott (Edinburgh 1811 - Penkill Castle 1890), signed and dated, on side of boat, bottom right: W B Scott Jan to Oct 1860. In autumn 1838 after a terrible storm William Darling, the keeper of Longstone Lighthouse, saw the remains of the Forfarshire and a handful of survivors on rocks a mile away on the other side of a fast flowing channel. He was alone, except for his sick wife and Grace their young daughter, so did not believe a rescue was possible until Grace hastily got ready to help him and insisted that they try. Together they launched the coble and rowed out to the wreck and saved eight lives. The woman on the ship wreck is a portrait of Alice Boyd, a great friend of William Bell Scott. One of a series of eight oil paintings illustrating the history of the English border painted between 1856 and 1861. Wallington, Northumberland (Accredited Museum)