By the Edge of the Stream

Henry Scott Tuke studied at the Slade School of Art in 1875 under Alphonse Legros and Sir Edward Poynter. He won a Slade Scholarship in 1877 and later travelled to Italy and Paris. There he he was influenced and encouraged by Jules Bastien-Pepage to paint 'en plein air' (outdoors). His painting style was influenced by the Impressionist movement. Tuke later settled in Newlyn, Cornwall, in 1883 and became a founder member of the Newlyn School. During this period he produced 'en plein air' (outdoor) paintings that documented life in the Cornish fishing villages. Tuke moved to Falmouth in 1885 and continued to paint the local beaches and particularly the young boys and fishermen that gathered there. The adolescent nude became more common in Tuke's work around this time and he became known as 'the painter of youth'. His work is often included in discussions of homoerotic art. Tuke's sexuality does not appear to have negatively affected his career. He was associated with the Uranian poets, a group of writers infatuated with the youthful looks of adolscent boys, and Tuke's own writing was published anonymously in 'The Artist' and 'The Studio'.