Henry Scott Tuke RA, RWS
Henry Scott Tuke RA, RWS
1858 - 1929
Born 1858 in York; Died 1929 in Falmouth, Cornwall
English landscape and figure painter associated with the Newlyn School. Also an accomplished photographer. He is best known for his nudes depicting boys and young men.
Henry Scott Tuke attended the Slade School of Art in 1875, under the tuition of Alphonse Legros (1837-1911) and Sir Edward Poynter PRA (1836-1919), before winning a scholarship to the Slade School of Art in 1877. In 1880 Tuke travelled to Italy and made his first nude studies from life, a moment which had an enlightening effect upon his understanding of light, colour and the human form. In 1883 Tuke settled in the Cornish fishing town of Newlyn, becoming a founder-member of the Newlyn School - an artist colony specialising in 'en plain air' painting and of scenes from coastal life. During the 1880s Tuke produced a number of dramatic paintings depicting Cornwall's fishing industry (an example is held by the Tate collection: 'All Hands to the Pumps', 1888-9. N01618). After a series of travels around the Mediterranean, Tuke's palette began to lighten considerably. His travels also caused his painting style and choice of subject to shift towards sun-soaked, coastal scenes of nude boys and young men. Tuke's ability to combine perfectly formed, classical compositions with a high level of naturalism secured him a reputation as a fine figure and landscape painter. He contributed to the development nineteenth century nude paintings, and also the varieties of en plein air painting.
Tuke was a founder-member of the New English Art Club (1886) and was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1900. He became a member in 1914. Tuke also received recognition as watercolourist, becoming a member of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1911. Although falling out of popularity after his death, Tuke was the subject of a major retrospective in 2008 at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, entitled 'Catching the Light: A Retrospective of Henry Scott Tuke'.
Tuke is represented across the UK in public collections including Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Saffron Walden Library, Tate, and The Tuke Collection (Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society), among many others. Non-UK collections include the National Gallery of South Africa.
(Benjamin Angwin - September 2014)
English landscape and figure painter associated with the Newlyn School. Also an accomplished photographer. He is best known for his nudes depicting boys and young men.
Henry Scott Tuke attended the Slade School of Art in 1875, under the tuition of Alphonse Legros (1837-1911) and Sir Edward Poynter PRA (1836-1919), before winning a scholarship to the Slade School of Art in 1877. In 1880 Tuke travelled to Italy and made his first nude studies from life, a moment which had an enlightening effect upon his understanding of light, colour and the human form. In 1883 Tuke settled in the Cornish fishing town of Newlyn, becoming a founder-member of the Newlyn School - an artist colony specialising in 'en plain air' painting and of scenes from coastal life. During the 1880s Tuke produced a number of dramatic paintings depicting Cornwall's fishing industry (an example is held by the Tate collection: 'All Hands to the Pumps', 1888-9. N01618). After a series of travels around the Mediterranean, Tuke's palette began to lighten considerably. His travels also caused his painting style and choice of subject to shift towards sun-soaked, coastal scenes of nude boys and young men. Tuke's ability to combine perfectly formed, classical compositions with a high level of naturalism secured him a reputation as a fine figure and landscape painter. He contributed to the development nineteenth century nude paintings, and also the varieties of en plein air painting.
Tuke was a founder-member of the New English Art Club (1886) and was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1900. He became a member in 1914. Tuke also received recognition as watercolourist, becoming a member of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1911. Although falling out of popularity after his death, Tuke was the subject of a major retrospective in 2008 at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, entitled 'Catching the Light: A Retrospective of Henry Scott Tuke'.
Tuke is represented across the UK in public collections including Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Saffron Walden Library, Tate, and The Tuke Collection (Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society), among many others. Non-UK collections include the National Gallery of South Africa.
(Benjamin Angwin - September 2014)