BATHERS ON THE SHORE, AN OIL BY WILLIAM HANNA CLARKE

WILLIAM HANNA CLARKE (SCOTTISH 1882 - 1924),
BATHERS ON THE SHORE
oil on canvas, signed and dated 1918
41cm x 52cm
Framed.
Provenance: Acquired by the vendor from Bourne Fine Art (now The Fine Art Society).
Note: Bathers on the Shore is the first major work by William Hanna Clarke to be offered at auction in several years.
Note 2: William Hanna Clarke was born in Glasgow. He initially trained as a dentist and practised in Glasgow and London, but he always had a strong interest in art, and attended night classes at the Glasgow School of Art. In 1913, he decided to give up dentistry to pursue a professional career in art, which brought him and his family to Kirkcudbright in 1915. At this time the town was recognised as a centre for artists. Here his talents were recognised and he was seen as a rising star in the Scottish art world and in 1923 his "Feeding The Hens" was sold to an American collector at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition in 1923 it was deemed newsworthy enough for a special report in the Glasgow newspapers. Clarke favoured sunny weather with light tones, sometimes contrasted deep exaggerated blues. Everything suggested that Clarke was to have a glittering career as an artist until his untimely death in 1924 following a tragic accident. He had visited a joiners yard to inspect the doors he was buying for a new home he was having built for him and his family. He was alone when the accident happened but those who rushed to his aid found that he'd fallen and severely injured his head. He died a few hours later. His death was widely reported in the newspapers and there was a very large attendance at his funeral at St Cuthbert's Church. Amongst the pall bearers were David Gauld, William Robson, Charles Oppenheimer and EA Taylor. Patrick Bourne wrote in "Kirkcudbright, 100 Years of an Artists Colony": He (Clarke) started late as a full-time painter and with his early death his career was short and the body of work was too small to keep him in the public eye. However, he was undoubtedly one of the artists genuinely inspired by the Galloway landscape and the work of the last few years of his life was as adventurous and stimulating as anything being produced at the time".