View of Provincetown

Henry Farrer's sketch captures a working waterfront village at the tip of Cape Cod, rendered in rapid pen and ink strokes. Sailboats rest in shallow harbor waters while figures move along the dock; clustered houses and towering trees rise behind wooden pilings and maritime infrastructure. Farrer, a London-born artist who spent his career in New York, was known for topographical drawings and etchings of American coastal towns. This informal study—annotated with the location and date—demonstrates the 19th-century practice of on-site sketching, recording both architectural character and the rhythms of fishing community life.