Grace Homer

Sunday Afternoon, Gouache 1960

1960

Oil on panel, signed lower right Image size: 12 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches (32 x 39 cm) Art Deco style frame Inscribed verso "Sanctuary, St Just, Cornwall" Also with sketch by the artist a...

Signed and dated '1902' lower right Contemporary style hand made frame Provenance: Tryon Gallery Private collection In this painting we can we Blackfriars Bridge in the background reaching across the River Thames with smoke billowing up into the sky behind. On the far right the unmistakable, and instantly recognisable, silhouette of St Pauls also breaks the sky line of the city. Finished in the early 18th Century, St Pauls has been a noticeable addition to the London cityscape ever since. This work by Wilkinson depicts 'The Pool' of London, a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. As part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and oversea goods to the wharves that originally made up the Port of London. In 1909 the Pool came under the jurisdiction of the Port of London Authority. The docks here thrived until the late 1950s, despite suffering from extreme bomb damage during the Second World War. The tall-masted ships that Wilkinson has depicted here are perfect examples of traditionally rigged sailing craft of the time. They differ from modern sailing vessels in that they did not use newer materials (such as aluminium and steel) and have more complex rigging as a result. The term tall ship later came into widespread use in the mid-20th century with the advent of Tall Ships' races. Here, incredible attention to detail has been applied by Wilkinson in the accurate depiction of the various ships rigging...