A Swedish Barque off Falmouth, 1924

Henry Scott Tuke, RA RWS NEAC RBA
(1858 – 1929)

Watercolour. Signed and dated.

12” x 18½” (30.5 cm x 47 cm)

One of the most gifted and influential artists working in Cornwall a century ago, Henry Scott Tuke was a maritime, figure and portrait painter of outstanding talent. He was born in York, the son of a doctor, and raised at Falmouth, where he developed a passion for the sea and sailing ships. An accomplished yachtsman who owned several boats, Tuke set up a studio aboard his own French brigantine, the Julie of Nantes, and specialised in painting the vessels which came to anchor in the deep waters of Falmouth Bay. Tuke studied at The Slade School under Edward Poynter and won The Slade Scholarship, an achievement that allowed him to travel to Florence and Paris. One of Britain’s foremost impressionist artists, Tuke was a master of painting en plein air. He was a member of The Royal Academy and The Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, where he exhibited 142 and 147 works, respectively. In a glittering career, he was also a founder member of The New English Art Club and two of his works, August Blue and All Hands to the Pumps, were bought for the nation by Chantrey Bequest.