Belying its small size, Fisherman’s Cove is a wonderful example of Hodgkin’s mature work and in a mesmerising manner illustrates how key the subject of scale is to his principle 🍌artistic concerns. Focal to these concerns is the sophistication of Hodgkin’s mark-making and the manner of how it is applied to 𓄧his choice of support. This means that reproductions of his paintings are hard to read in terms of understanding the actual size of the work and the current example soundly demonstrates how a small work can appear large.

Although the actual size of a small Hodgkin is that of a sketch, Fisherman’s Cove is not a study for a larger work. It is a carefully conceived and complete narrative, whose diminutive size and boundless expansiveness of brushwork are combined to great effect. Recently featured in the Tate Gallery’s acclaimed retrospective of his work, Fisherman’s Cove is described in the Exhibitio𒀰n Catalogue as follows:

``The bold, blue brushstrokes overflowing the central panel of Fisherman’s Cove  1993, and the chartreuse marks on the picture’s frame, would appear at first glance suitable to a medium-sized painting… The proportions of the blue brushstrokes to the tiny support, and of the green marks to the frame, are counterintuitive. You would not think brushstrokes so 'large’ would fit such a small picture… (however) Fisherman’s Cove, though small, is capacious in feeling, as befitting its subject.’’ (James Meyer quoted in: Exhibition Catalogue, London, Tate Gallery, Howard Hodgkin, 2006, p. 55)