Allan achieved an early reputation as a watercolourist, but he was a prolific painter in both oil and watercolour. His subject-matter was mainly landscapes and seascapes, particularly the fishing villages, harbours and fishing boats of the north-east coast of Scotland. The Return from Fishing depicts the harbour at the small fishing village of Rosehearty, on the Buchan coast a few miles west of Fraserburgh.

Robert Weir Allan VPRWS RSW, 1851-1942

Born in Glasgow, the son of a well-known lithographer and publisher, Allan decided to become an artist rather than join his father in this business. He moved to Paris in 1875, studying at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts before settling in London in 1881. He travelled in Europe, toured India in 1891-92, went to Japan in 1907 and visited North Africa in 1911-12.