William Henry Bartlett (1858–1932)

William Henry Bartlett (1858–1932)
By the Committee Boat: "Are you Ready?"
Signed and dated W H BARTLETT 1890 (lower right)
Oil on canvas
75.1 x 117.2cm

Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1890, no.294

Literature:
Henry Blackburn (ed), Academy Notes 1890 (London, Chatto and Windus, 1890), pp.11, 61 (illustrated);
Philip Payton (ed), Cornish Studies, vol.18 (illustrated on cover);
David Tovey, Pioneers of St. Ives Art at Home and Abroad (1889-1914) (Wilson Books, 2008), p.53-53, fig.2.8

The present work shows the start of a swimming race in St Ives. William Henry Bartlett exhibited the painting at the Royal Academy in 1890, but close comparison of contemporary illustrations with the present work shows that he subsequently made various compositional changes. These include painting out the racers’ swimming caps, removing a rowing boat, and adding in Smeaton's Pier, before re-signing the painting.