CHARLES NAPIER HEMY (BRITISH, 1841-1917)

Footnote
Charles Napier Hemy was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and trained at the city school of design before furthering his studies at the Antwerp Academy.  Having spent a decade in London he moved to Falmouth in 1881.  Here he depicted the lives of south coast fishermen, masterfully combining the intricate detail and techniques of the day with the inherent danger a life at sea entails.  This is powerfully illustrated in works such as Pilchards (1897, Tate Britain) and The Silent Adieu (1889, Williamson Art Gallery & Museum).  Hemy adopts a close perspective that places the viewer in the midst of nautical action.  Such immediacy is prevalent in Landing the Catch where the crucial moment that the fish is actually plucked from the water takes place within touching distance.  The fishing boat is beautifully rendered, with its weather-beaten stern reflecting many years exposure to the elements, as are the fishermen themselves as they toil to make a living.

Condition Report
The sheet has an approximately 20cm vertical tear in the sky, upper left and further approximately 6cm tear in the sky upper right; discolouration throughout sky and further patches in the sea; sheet adhered to a new backing card.