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Charles Napier Hemy (1841-1917)
On a Wind

Medium: Watercolour and tempera on paper laid on canvas
Size without frame: 23.7" x 35.7"
Size including frame: 28.7" x 40.7"
SOLD

"To me Hemy stands for the waters of England... His knowledge of the sea was superb. As a draughtsman of wave forms he stands alone."* Indeed, and here an excellent, and substantial, example of his skill: a Cornish clinker-built fishing boat rides the wind coming off the top of the swell dipping into a trough and slicing it's way forward. Painting the boat on the diagonal, and cutting off the top of the sail, Hemy enhances the sense of speed across the sea. Despite the swell the helmsman looks relaxed - quite probably an experienced Falmouth fisherman. Fresh to the market being acquired from a private source where it had resided for several generations. Signed and dated lower left, and signed and titled by Hemy verso.

*Brangwyn's foreword to Hemy's memorial exhibition 'A Life on the Sea' (Fine Art Society, 1918.)

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