The rowing boat (recto); A cloudy seascape (verso)

This lively Impressionist oil is a study of one of Henry Scott Tuke’s local models, probably Charlie Mitchell rowing a clinker built dinghy. Tuke owned many small boats which he kept either at the foot of the cliffs below his cottage at Pennanace, Swanpool, Falmouth or in Falmouth harbour. He used them to get out to the Carrick Roads where he could see and paint fully rigged sailing ships which would arrive with cargo from places like Australia and moor in deep water. It was probably painted from the small beach at Pennance and Charlie Mitchell is depicted negotiating rocks covered in seaweed before he gets in open water. Tuke has painted a couple of small sailing boats in the background and the horizon Is near the top of the painting showing the proximity to the open sea. Tuke often painted directly on to panel as this size of panel was easy to carry down to the beach where he would have worked en plein air. There are similar paintings of men rowing dinghies in the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society’s Tuke collection at Falmouth Art Gallery such as A128 and A36 illustrated in C. Wallace, Henry Scott Tuke- Paintings from Cornwall, Wellington, p. 67.

On the back of the panel is a subtly observed cloudy seascape with a single white sailing boat – caught as it sailed passed Tuke’s cottage at Pennance, painted in just a few minutes capturing perfectly the light and movement of clouds over the sea.

We are grateful to Catherine Wallace for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.