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

Maharajah Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, 1908;
Sotheby's, London, 5 March 1980, lot 29 (as 'The Sailor's Rest');
Private collection

London, Royal Academy, 1906, Summer Exhibition, no.264 (as 'Sailors Yarning');
Hull, 1906, number not known;
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, repr. p. 9;
Maria Tuke Sainsbury in her Henry Scott Tuke R.A., R.W.S.: A Memoir, 1933, p.141 (as 'Sailors Yarning');
Emmanuel Cooper, The Life and Work of Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929, 1979, repr. p.16;
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, 1989, pp. 97, repr. p. 104, pl. 77

STRUCTURE The canvas has been relined and is stable. CATALOGUE COMPARISON The catalogue illustration is broadly representative. PAINT SURFACE The paint surface is in good clean condition throughout with a light even varnish. Ready to hang. ULTRAVIOLET UV light reveals some strengthening to the outline between the central figure and the rigging; also infilling to craquelure on the face of the sailor lying in the foreground. This has been sensitively executed. FRAME Held in a plaster gilt frame in fair condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Henry Scott Tuke is now perhaps best-known as a painter of nude sun-worshippers disporting in the shallows on the Cornish coast, exemplified in works such as August Blue of 1893 (Tate Britain), Ruby, Gold and Malachite (Guildhall Art Gallery, Corporation of London)  and Noonday Heat of 1911 (Falmouth Art Gallery) but his oeuvre was not limited to these celebrations of Apollonian naturism. Tuke's great knowledge of sailing gave his paintings of Cornish fishermen and their vessels an attention to detail and truth to nature that is as heart-felt as his studies of boyhood.

Tuke was born in York into a large Quaker family, his father a physician who was forced to give up his profession a year after his son's birth when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Perhaps hoping to find a cure in the sea-air, Dr Daniel Hack Tuke moved with his family to Falmouth in 1860 and it was here that the young Henry and his brother William were raised and developed a deep love for the Cornish landscape and their neighbours. In 1875 Henry Tuke was enrolled at the Slade School of Art in London and trained under Edward Poynter who instilled in him the importance of studying the human figure. Later Tuke went to Paris where he met John Singer Sargent who became a life-long friend and to Florence where the artist Arthur Lemon introduced him to plein-air painting. Although Tuke travelled and was open to continental influences upon his art, he always intended to return to Falmouth and it was there that he converted a French brigantine named the Julie of Nantes into a floating studio to paint the large and popular pictures he exhibited at the Royal Academy's annual exhibitions.

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 incorporates 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' (David Wainwright and Catherine Dinn, Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929, Under Canvas, 1989, 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 as well as the fisherman Neddy Hall, the dockyard apprentice Tom Tiddy and, according to Tuke's work registers, a character who went by the name Stride of Camborne. Cleave caused Tuke some problems when he converted to Methodism halfway through the sittings and decided he could no longer pose. Fortunately the problem was soon solved a day later when Tuke managed to persuade Cleave that posing for artists did not compromise his newly found religious beliefs and preparation of the picture progressed. According to Tiddy the boys all wore their own working clothes, supplemented where necessary with props from Tuke's studio. They were paid a couple of shillings each for posing and promptly spent the money at a visiting fair riding the helter skelter ride which was a new sight at Falmouth. 

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, Henry Scott Tuke R.A., R.W.S.: A Memoir, 1933, p.141).

Ranjitsinhji bought two pictures from Tuke immediately following their first meeting - Sailors Yarning and Returned from Fishing of 1907 (FIG 1, sold in these rooms, 5 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. Sainsbury, p.143).