The Long Day Wanes
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Research by Kate Cartmell
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Acc No 200
Artist Henry Meynell Rheam Artist dates 1859-1920 Medium watercolour Size 76.2 x 127.0 cm (30 x 50 in) Date painted 1889 Donor Susan Woodhouse, nee Shepherd 1872-1948 20 Cyprus Avenue, Lytham St Annes Date donated 27 May 1946 Also in the Collection by Henry Meynell Rheam: When the Wind Bloweth in from the Sea |
A large watercolour painting depicting life in a typical Cornish fishing village. A few villagers are out, enjoying a welcome spell of clement weather, watching familiar boats as they sail smoothly into the harbour on a quiet, calm sea. An elderly fisherman sits on a nearby rock, quietly smoking a pipe, perhaps reminiscing on his past, hard life at sea. Two young girls stop to exchange news of the moment; meanwhile, a middle-aged lady, perhaps a wife or mother, stands by the harbour wall, patiently gazing out to sea, awaiting the return of her family. Boats sail silently into the harbour, safely returning at the end of the hard, working day, hopefully laden with fish ready to be sold to the waiting village housewives. A long-handled lobster pot is carelessly left against the harbour wall, not needed again until work begins the following day. The sun has now dropped below the horizon; a peaceful end to the day.
NOTE: Until December 2020 this painting was known under the title Harbour Scene with Figures. At that time we received a request from Cornish art historian, David Tovey (see bibliography), for help regarding images for a book he was writing entitled 'Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre'. This was to accompany an exhibition being organised by Falmouth Art Gallery for 2021, who had arranged to borrow one of Rheam's paintings. This is what he wrote:
Rheam's two most significant Polperro subjects are both owned by the Lytham St Annes Art Collection. Both are of much the same scene - a grouping of figures by the start of the Outer Quay with a view out to sea - and both were donated to the collection, albeit by different local donors, in 1946. Both are large watercolours, measuring 30" x 50", but one, which has merely been called 'Harbour Scene with Figures', is dated 1889, whilst the other, entitled 'On the Lookout', is dated 1890. Accordingly, there has been some reluctance to admit that they are Polperro subjects, but although the artist may have taken some licence with the headlands in the background, the setting is assuredly the Outer Quay. In the 1889 work the principal figure is an old fisherman smoking his pipe, whilst in the background a young girl is holding a skein of wool in her outstretched hands, whilst her friend rolls this into a ball. Another woman looks out at the fleet that is setting sail as the sun goes down. This is clearly the work that was exhibited at Liverpool in 1890, under the title 'The Long Day Wanes'.
The 1890 dated work is painted in an almost identical spot, but here, in the foreground, are two women, seen in profile, one pointing to something that is happening, seemingly outside the picture, at the end of the Outer Quay. On the right, a young fisherman approaches, with a pair of oars carried on his shoulder, the artist being unconcerned that the end of the oars are cut off. Other fisherman are posed, perhaps a little stiffly, by the seaward wall of the Outer Quay, whilst one young lad sits on top of it. Again, the title used by Lytham St Annes, 'On the Lookout', does not seem very appropriate. It is likely that his 1890 Royal Academy exhibit, 'When the Wind Bloweth in from the Sea', was also a Polperro Scene.
NOTE: Until December 2020 this painting was known under the title Harbour Scene with Figures. At that time we received a request from Cornish art historian, David Tovey (see bibliography), for help regarding images for a book he was writing entitled 'Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre'. This was to accompany an exhibition being organised by Falmouth Art Gallery for 2021, who had arranged to borrow one of Rheam's paintings. This is what he wrote:
Rheam's two most significant Polperro subjects are both owned by the Lytham St Annes Art Collection. Both are of much the same scene - a grouping of figures by the start of the Outer Quay with a view out to sea - and both were donated to the collection, albeit by different local donors, in 1946. Both are large watercolours, measuring 30" x 50", but one, which has merely been called 'Harbour Scene with Figures', is dated 1889, whilst the other, entitled 'On the Lookout', is dated 1890. Accordingly, there has been some reluctance to admit that they are Polperro subjects, but although the artist may have taken some licence with the headlands in the background, the setting is assuredly the Outer Quay. In the 1889 work the principal figure is an old fisherman smoking his pipe, whilst in the background a young girl is holding a skein of wool in her outstretched hands, whilst her friend rolls this into a ball. Another woman looks out at the fleet that is setting sail as the sun goes down. This is clearly the work that was exhibited at Liverpool in 1890, under the title 'The Long Day Wanes'.
The 1890 dated work is painted in an almost identical spot, but here, in the foreground, are two women, seen in profile, one pointing to something that is happening, seemingly outside the picture, at the end of the Outer Quay. On the right, a young fisherman approaches, with a pair of oars carried on his shoulder, the artist being unconcerned that the end of the oars are cut off. Other fisherman are posed, perhaps a little stiffly, by the seaward wall of the Outer Quay, whilst one young lad sits on top of it. Again, the title used by Lytham St Annes, 'On the Lookout', does not seem very appropriate. It is likely that his 1890 Royal Academy exhibit, 'When the Wind Bloweth in from the Sea', was also a Polperro Scene.
ARTIST
Henry Meynell Rheam,1859–1920, was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside on 13 January 1859. His father, Henry Casson Rheam, and his mother, Mary (nee Stickney) were both Yorkshire born and whilst in the 1861 census his father was referred to as a commercial clerk, he became a successful hide and leather merchant. Henry was the eldest surviving son of a large family. In 1871 he was recorded as a boarder at a school in Weston-super-Mare. He studied in London at Heatherly's in 1884, in Germany and in Paris at the Academie Julian in 1886. Working primarily in watercolours, he first exhibited in London in 1887.
He was persuaded to move to Newlyn by his friend, Stanhope Forbes of the Newlyn School, initially to support the local cricket team but he was soon drawn into the then well-established Newlyn School of local artists, which included the Stanhope Forbes School of Painting. Kelly's Dictionary for Polperro shows Rheam living at Sea View Cottage in 1889. His first cousin, Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929), was already a member. The school specialised in landscape paintings, influenced by continental artists’ colonies, painting en plein air. Newlyn with its strong, natural light and warm climate was ideal for working outdoors in nature. The picturesque rural scenery and relatively easy access to London via the new railway of that era made it a perfect location. Subject matter was plentiful with everyday scenes of harbour and village activity, and with daily dangers and disasters at sea. Having settled there, he married Alice Elliott in April 1900. He regularly visited Lamorna Valley, a local area of natural beauty, working with his friend, Samuel John 'Lamorna' Birch (1869–1955), and his wife.
His most notable work was The Girl in Blue, painted in 1891. Later, his paintings developed, mainly influenced by romantic late Pre-Raphaelite style depictions of fanciful and mythological subjects. Rheam successfully exhibited ten of his works at the Royal Academy and three works at the New Watercolour Society, which later became the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, of which he was a member from 1895.
The Newlyn Art Gallery was opened in 1895, primarily, to exhibit works which hopefully would later be shown at the Royal Academy in London. In 1897 Rheam became the Honorary Secretary/Curator of the Newlyn Society of Artists and continued loyally in that post until his death in 1920. In 1903 Rheam sold both Sketch for Pandora and Melisande to the then Bishop of Ripon. In addition to his painting and active cricketing life, his curatorship involved demanding administrative duties. The Rheams remained in Newlyn until about 1914 when they moved to Penzance.
Henry Meynell Rheam,1859–1920, was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside on 13 January 1859. His father, Henry Casson Rheam, and his mother, Mary (nee Stickney) were both Yorkshire born and whilst in the 1861 census his father was referred to as a commercial clerk, he became a successful hide and leather merchant. Henry was the eldest surviving son of a large family. In 1871 he was recorded as a boarder at a school in Weston-super-Mare. He studied in London at Heatherly's in 1884, in Germany and in Paris at the Academie Julian in 1886. Working primarily in watercolours, he first exhibited in London in 1887.
He was persuaded to move to Newlyn by his friend, Stanhope Forbes of the Newlyn School, initially to support the local cricket team but he was soon drawn into the then well-established Newlyn School of local artists, which included the Stanhope Forbes School of Painting. Kelly's Dictionary for Polperro shows Rheam living at Sea View Cottage in 1889. His first cousin, Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929), was already a member. The school specialised in landscape paintings, influenced by continental artists’ colonies, painting en plein air. Newlyn with its strong, natural light and warm climate was ideal for working outdoors in nature. The picturesque rural scenery and relatively easy access to London via the new railway of that era made it a perfect location. Subject matter was plentiful with everyday scenes of harbour and village activity, and with daily dangers and disasters at sea. Having settled there, he married Alice Elliott in April 1900. He regularly visited Lamorna Valley, a local area of natural beauty, working with his friend, Samuel John 'Lamorna' Birch (1869–1955), and his wife.
His most notable work was The Girl in Blue, painted in 1891. Later, his paintings developed, mainly influenced by romantic late Pre-Raphaelite style depictions of fanciful and mythological subjects. Rheam successfully exhibited ten of his works at the Royal Academy and three works at the New Watercolour Society, which later became the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, of which he was a member from 1895.
The Newlyn Art Gallery was opened in 1895, primarily, to exhibit works which hopefully would later be shown at the Royal Academy in London. In 1897 Rheam became the Honorary Secretary/Curator of the Newlyn Society of Artists and continued loyally in that post until his death in 1920. In 1903 Rheam sold both Sketch for Pandora and Melisande to the then Bishop of Ripon. In addition to his painting and active cricketing life, his curatorship involved demanding administrative duties. The Rheams remained in Newlyn until about 1914 when they moved to Penzance.
REFERENCES
Penlee House and Museum, The Art Collection, Penlee House - a permanent collection of paintings which is actively being developed
ARTeFACT: Recent Newsletters of the Friends of Penlee House
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro - Cornwall Artists Index
The Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall
Royal Exeter Museum and Art Gallery
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, A Century of St Ives Art: 1840-1940
Lytham St Annes Art Collection website
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ed. Hardie, Melissa, (1995), 100 Years in Newlyn: Diary of a Gallery
Ed. Hardie, Melissa, (2009), Artists in Newlyn and West Cornwall 1880-1940, Art Dictionaries 2009
Wallace, Catherine, Henry Scott Tuke, Paintings from Cornwall
Wallace, Catherine, (2007, reprinted 2014), Under the Open Sky: The Paintings of Newlyn and Lamorna Artists 1880-1940
in the Public Collections of Cornwall and Plymouth
Button, Virginia, (2009), St Ives Artists - A Companion, Tate Publishing
Smiles, Sam, (2001), Into the Light, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter
Tovey, David, Cornish Art Historian; also NADFAS Lecturer and writer of 8 books on the subject, including:
St Ives Art pre-1890 - The Dawn of the Colony
Pioneers of St Ives Art at Home and Abroad1889-1914
Sea Change - Fine and Decorative Art in St Ives 1914-1930
Creating a Splash -The St Ives Society of Artists 1927-1952
St Ives (1860-1930) - The Artists and the Community - A Social History
The Artists and the Community - a Social History
Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre - Volume One - Pre 1920
www.stivesartinfo - This is still the correct website of David Tovey (written 2020); if difficulty in locating this website, put in David Tovey
(Cornish Art Historian)
Record of local paintings by Henry Meynell Rheam sold at Newlyn Art Gallery
1895 The Harbour Lights
1902 The Harbour ( Newlyn Harbour)
1905 Newlyn Harbour
1907 A Busy Day in Newlyn Harbour
1909 Newlyn Harbour
Related:
1899 A Newlyn Garden
1902 Lowestoft boats at Newlyn
1913 Newlyn Bridge
Date unknown The Girl in Blue
Penlee House and Museum, The Art Collection, Penlee House - a permanent collection of paintings which is actively being developed
ARTeFACT: Recent Newsletters of the Friends of Penlee House
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro - Cornwall Artists Index
The Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall
Royal Exeter Museum and Art Gallery
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, A Century of St Ives Art: 1840-1940
Lytham St Annes Art Collection website
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ed. Hardie, Melissa, (1995), 100 Years in Newlyn: Diary of a Gallery
Ed. Hardie, Melissa, (2009), Artists in Newlyn and West Cornwall 1880-1940, Art Dictionaries 2009
Wallace, Catherine, Henry Scott Tuke, Paintings from Cornwall
Wallace, Catherine, (2007, reprinted 2014), Under the Open Sky: The Paintings of Newlyn and Lamorna Artists 1880-1940
in the Public Collections of Cornwall and Plymouth
Button, Virginia, (2009), St Ives Artists - A Companion, Tate Publishing
Smiles, Sam, (2001), Into the Light, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter
Tovey, David, Cornish Art Historian; also NADFAS Lecturer and writer of 8 books on the subject, including:
St Ives Art pre-1890 - The Dawn of the Colony
Pioneers of St Ives Art at Home and Abroad1889-1914
Sea Change - Fine and Decorative Art in St Ives 1914-1930
Creating a Splash -The St Ives Society of Artists 1927-1952
St Ives (1860-1930) - The Artists and the Community - A Social History
The Artists and the Community - a Social History
Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre - Volume One - Pre 1920
www.stivesartinfo - This is still the correct website of David Tovey (written 2020); if difficulty in locating this website, put in David Tovey
(Cornish Art Historian)
Record of local paintings by Henry Meynell Rheam sold at Newlyn Art Gallery
1895 The Harbour Lights
1902 The Harbour ( Newlyn Harbour)
1905 Newlyn Harbour
1907 A Busy Day in Newlyn Harbour
1909 Newlyn Harbour
Related:
1899 A Newlyn Garden
1902 Lowestoft boats at Newlyn
1913 Newlyn Bridge
Date unknown The Girl in Blue
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Donor Susan Woodhouse
When the Wind Bloweth in from the Sea by Henry Meynell Rheam
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