Born in Berkshire, and moving to Nottingham in 1903 to work as a traveling salesman, Archibald Campbell Mellon (1876-1955) was determined on an artist's life in Norfolk after witnessing World War One horrors and following the migratory example of his painterly hero, John Alfred Arnesby Brown. His nickname of Melancholy Mellon reflected both the muddy palette of his early land-locked pictures and his memories of the trenches.

With Arnesby Brown installed at Haddiscoe, Mellon moved to a house overlooking Gorleston harbor - and for three years became the master's only known student. They were to remain life-long friends and to die within weeks of one another. But while Arnesby Brown was the painter-poet of tOur thanks to Ian Collins for preparing this footnote, the present painting is further discussed in his book 'A Broad Canvas'. Ian Collins writes for the Eastern Daily Press. His new book - Water Marks: Art in East Anglia - is published by Black Dog Books....