1886
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Rowing Home the Schoof-Stuff is a 1886 by Peter Henry Emerson, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A wooden boat glides on calm water. Three men row in unison, their oars dipping in rhythm. Tall reeds line the far bank, casting long shadows. This shot came from Emerson’s book *Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads*. He avoided posed scenes, favoring real life. The word “schoof” means a sheaf of marsh plants, tied for winter feed. Next time you’re in Ohio, visit The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Reacting against the theatrical, sentimental photogaphs made by his contemporaries, Peter Henry Emerson pursued a direct and more naturalistic form of photography. He discovered his subjects in familiar scenes from everyday life and captured them on film. This image was included among the 40 prints illustrating Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads , one of many books Emerson published on the marsh dwellers of East Anglia. In this photograph the word "schoof" refers to the sheaf of marsh plants that have been harvested to be dried and stored at home.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Peter Henry Emerson was a British writer and photographer. His photographs are early examples of promoting straight photography as an art form. He is known for taking photographs that displayed rural settings and for…
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