A fine watercolour by Henry Scott Tuke RA depicting ‘Sailing Ships in a Calm’ is included in our Antiques and Contemporary Sale at Minster Auctions on June 2nd 2021
Not only known as a portraitist , Tuke was a superb painter of Boats. From his studio by the sea at Falmouth, Tuke was in an ideal place to observe the arrival and departure of sailing vessels from the port The sailing ships in Falmouth Harbour were a constant inspiration for the artist: not only the picturesque smaller craft but also the larger Barques and Clippers. Tuke regretted ‘the loss of ‘the romance of travel’ by steamers and was proud of Falmouth’s position as a traditional port for ocean going vessels ‘where yet may be found some glamour of the old days of sailing ships bringing rich cargoes from strange lands and fresh from the doubtful usage of wind and wave’