Youth with an oar

This painting of a young man carrying oars is probably of Charlie Mitchell (1885-1957) who was a model for Henry Scott Tuke from the age of 16 into his 30s. Tuke often used the head of one model on the body of another so it is not always possible to clearly identify the models. However, this is likely to be of Charlie Mitchell as he looked after Tuke’s boats and used to row the artist out from Swanpool where he lived into Falmouth Bay so he could paint the many tall ships that visited the harbour. In late 1918 Charlie had just returned from active service in the war. The red tam-o’-shanter he is wearing features in several of Tuke’s sailor paintings of this period. Tuke had props, including different hats and clothes, that his models wore for his paintings especially when posing as sailors. This painting is a sketch or study painted out doors en plein air. This is evident in the rapid impressionistic brushwork especially in the sea and rocks. The foreground, as well as the model’s feet, is also roughly painted in. The focus of the painting is on the model’s face and hands. Tuke seems to have applied a brown base layer of paint which he has then painted over with a variety of blues to define the model's jacket and trousers. These colours are beautifully complimented by the reds of the tam-o’-shanter, the red and blue scarf at the model’s neck and his red complexion. As Emmanuel Cooper notes 'the treatment of the sea creates a particularly successful shimmering effect, adding to the solidarity of the figures' (The life and work of Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929), Swaffham, 1997, p. 53).
We are grateful to Catherine Wallace for preparing this catalogue entry.