The Life & Work of Henry Scott Tuke 1858-1929

Book excerpt: A stunning and sensuous collection of paintings by this English 'Painter of Youth'. Like his close American contemporary Thomas Eakins, Tuke's naturalist paintings of naked young men were inspired by classical ideals of perfection, by the Impressionists and plein air painters, and by the poetic influence of Walt Whitman. Tuke returned from London to settle in his native Cornwall, where the idyllic coastline is the setting for much of his work. Largely forgotten after his death, in a Freudian age when the sexuality of his paintings could not be ignored, Tuke has now been rediscovered and enjoyed by a new been rediscovered generation. All his major paintings are reproduced in colour in this first published monograph on the artist, now available in large format paperback.