"Sailor's Return," by Joseph Clark

Sailor's Return

Joseph Clark (1834-1926)

1885

Pen and ink and watercolour on paper

H 33.9 cm x W 27.3 cm

Accession no. E 945-2003

Credit: Given by Rosemary Chiles

Downloaded here, with thanks, for non-commercial online use.

With its heartwarming glimpse of a family reunion, this was a preparatory sketch for the oil painting shown under the title Home Again, which Clark exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885. The reviewer in The Builder was not particularly impressed, considering to be "not equal to Mr Clark at his best, but interesting in the figures and face [sic] of the children" (687). [Commentary continues below; mouse over the text for links]

In truth, Home Again seems to have been overshadowed on this occasion by Clark's Mother's Darling, shown that same year and not only hung in Gallery I, but illustrated in Henry Lassalle's account of the year's offerings, and acquired for the Tate by the Chantrey Bequest. However, the finished oil painting based on the watercolour sketch shown above was still listed "Amongst the best and most important works" in Gallery X of the exhibition (Lassalle 73). — Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

Sailor's Return. V&A. Web. 22 November 2024.

"Further Notes on Aacdemy Pictures." The Builder Vol. 48 (16 May 1885): 686-87. Google Books. Free ebook.

Lassalle, Henry, ed. Google Books. Free ebook.

Created 22 November 2024