Henry Scott Tuke R.A., R.W.S. 1858-1929

Prince Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, 1908

Sale, Sotheby's, London, 5th March 1980, lot 29 (as 'The Sailor's Rest')

London, Royal Academy, 1906, Summer Exhibition, no.264 (as 'Sailors Yarning');

Hull, 1906, details untraced;

Falmouth Art Gallery, Coming Home to Falmouth: Paintings and Drawings by Henry Scott Tuke, R.A., 1985, no.31 (as 'Sailors Yarning (or The Mid-Day Rest)'). 

Royal Academy Pictures, 1906, p.9, illustrated;

Maria Tuke Sainsbury in her Henry Scott Tuke R.A., R.W.S.: A Memoir, Martin Secker, London, 1933, p.141 (as 'Sailors Yarning')

Emmanuel Cooper, The Life and Work of Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929, GMP Publishers, London, 1979, p.16, illustrated;

Brian D. Price (ed.), The Registers of Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929), 1983, no.R544;

David Wainwright and Catherine Dinn, Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929, Under Canvas, Sarema Press, London, 1989, pp.97 and 104, illustrated in colour, plate 77.

The Midday Rest (also known as Sailors Yarning) was painted on board the derelict French barque Mazatlan which had been towed into Falmouth harbour in May 1905 following storm damage. While she lay moored, Tuke made use of her decks to compose a number of small figure studies as well as the large Midday Rest, a beautifully balanced work across which the famous Cornish sunlight falls broken through the rigging. Composed around a traditional triangular device (defined by the angle of the sleeping boy, the bow-sprit and the ropes slung diagonally above the central boys' heads), the painting encorporates a wealth of fascinating detail to enliven the eye. The older man's pewter or enamel mug catches the clear sunlight, a beam glistening on the top of the teaspoon; the clay pipe and the absorbing letter are crisply delineated in contrast to the writhing mass of rope, left tangled as the sailors take advantage of a moment of sunny respite. 

It is however the artist's handling of this sunlight which is his most notable achievement with this picture. It almost feels possible to categorise the sun as pertaining to a specific season - autumnal rather than the burning heat of summer - the sailors still fully clothed amidst the soft-edged shadows, and the blue-white of the sails and distant masts further suggesting a cooler ambient temperature. Referred to by Wainwright and Dinn as ''one of his most luminous'', The Midday Rest is ''made distinctive by the quality of the limpid blue light dappling the scene and subordinating its subject to the atmosphere'' (op.cit., p.97).

The sitters for the present work included two of Tuke's favourite models, Johnny Jackett (who had recently been selected for the England rugby team) and Harry Cleave (who threatened the artist with a religious conversion half-way through the sittings), as well as the fisherman Neddy Hall, the dockyard apprentice Tom Tiddy and, according to the Registers, a character who went by the name Stride of Camborne.

It was around the date of this work that Tuke, a competent all-round sportsman, became very interested in cricket. Through his friendship with G.W. Beldam he was introduced to a number of professional players including W.G. Grace and, in February 1908, Ranjitsinhji (Ranji) - two of the finest cricketers in the game's history. Coached by these legendary players, Beldam later remarked that Tuke ''became quite good at Ranji's leg-glide, and, had he taken up the game earlier, would have been a batsman above the average'' (letter to the artist's sister, Maria Tuke Sainsbury, op.cit., p.141).

Ranjitsinhji bought two pictures from Tuke immediately following their first meeting - Sailors Yarning and Returned from Fishing (1907, private collection, also sold in these rooms, 5th March 1980, lot 30) and commissioned the artist to paint his portrait in full Maharaja regalia in the same year. The artist's sister cites a letter written by Ranji to the artist's family in later years: ''Very soon we all called him Tuko, for he had a most delightful personality and was a man well beloved by all of us... He will always remain in my remembrance as one whom it was a privilege to have known'' (ibid., p.143).