The Watcher

Details

Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929)
The Watcher
signed and dated 'TUKE/1916' (on the front of the base)
bronze with a dark green brown patina
12½ in. (31.8 cm.) high including wooden base

Literature

M. Tuke Sainsbury, Henry Scott Tuke A Memoir, London, 1933, p. 158, another cast illustrated.
B.D. Price, The Registers of Henry Scott Tuke, Falmouth, 1983, R843.
E. Cooper, The Life and Work of Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929, London, 1987, pp. 57-58, another cast illustrated.
D. Wainwright and C. Dinn, Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929 Under Canvas, London, 1989, p. 116.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

'The Watcher, a single youthful naked figure leaning on a rock is alert yet relaxed, inspired perhaps by Tuke's own experience of the war' (E. Cooper, loc. cit.). This sculpture, nicknamed by Tuke, 'The Little Man', was based on two different models: Harry Giles modelled for the head, while the body was modelled by Tuke's workshop assistance, Charlie Mitchell.

'After the plaster cast had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1916, several replicas in bronze were ordered but only five were ever cast; the recipient of one was told that his would have to be the last, as Tuke was not allowed any more bronze by the government because of the shortage of metal for armaments' (see D. Wainwright and C. Dinn, loc. cit.).

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