Low Tide, Porthleven

Richard says in the same letter quoted above (shown below) that he only painted two pictures of Porthleven. Low Tide, Porthleven is the earlier and larger of them. Both were shown in Richard's solo exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London in 1938:

• Cat 14, Porthleven, Cornwall, priced at 35 guineas 

• Cat 23, Low Tide, Porthleven, priced at 100 guineas  

The two paintings can be confused, because Low Tide, Porthleven has been referred to as Porthleven, Cornwall in some records.  This may have crept in while it was with Tooth's Gallery during the war. Porthleven, Cornwall is also inscribed on the stretcher but the NGV , who have the work in their collection, told us that it was probably written by the NGV as a descripton rather than a title. They refer to it as Low Tide, Porthleven.
 
RE’s sales diary records Dudley Tooth, head of Arthur Tooth & Sons Gallery in London, buying Low Tide, Porthleven directly from the 1938 Redfern show. It appears Dudley negotiated a deal, buying Low Tide, Porthleven priced at 100 guineas and “The Red Tanker" priced at 35 guineas, together for £100 - two for less than the catalogue price of one! Tooth's sold the painting on to National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in 1946.

The other Porthleven painting, Porthleven, Cornwall (1938), did not sell but Richard put it into the 1938 autumn salon at the Goupil Gallery as Cornish Port - recorded in his sales diary as Cornish Port (Porthleven). 

Although there are examples of Richard using a panorama format going back to 1918, the 1938 Redfern show seems to be a turning point where he starts to choose the format regularly, going on to use it for around 150 works. There were three panoramas in the 1938 Refern show: 

• "Low Tide, Porthleven” (1937), the longest at approximately 50 x 178 cm
• "Mousehole Harbour, Cornwall” (1937), also quite large at 62 x 166 cm, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland
• “Constantine, Cornwall” (1937) a little smaller at 46 x 126 cm, whereabouts unknown.

Also see comments about Low Tide, Porthleven (referred to as Porthleven, Cornwall) regarding panoramas on the work page of another panorama, Beach with Bathers.