The Return

7th May 1948: "Painting all day on ‘The Return’, made no progress whatever. Most humiliating."

1948 - "3 pictures for ‘Paintings for Schools' at the Tate : 1) Seascape, the Return (20x24”), 2) Two Tigers, 3) Twelfth Night"

All three paintings sold. 'The Return' was acquired by L.C.C. (London County Council). They also bought 'Twelfth Night'. "Tigers" sold to Keighley Girls' Grammar School in Yorkshire. 

In 1986 the L.C.C. sold on the 'The Return' and 'Twelfth Night' through auction to private collectors. 'Tigers' eventually found its way into the the Cartwright Hall Gallery collection in Bradford.

There has been some confusion about the title and attribution of this work. It has been known as 'The Return' and also as 'The Ship Inn, Weymouth' as well as 'Rainbow over the Harbour'.

The confusion seems to have arisen sometime between the time when it was first sold in 1986 as 'The Return' (1948) and then sold again in 1992 as 'The Ship Inn, Weymouth' (1932). In 1992 it was exhibited as 'The Ship Inn, Weymouth'. These earlier dates are probably references to a painting titled The Ship Inn, Weymouth (1932) shown in the 'Dorset Seaports' exhibiition at the Redfern in 1933.  There is no record of how the name and date came to be changed.

The collector who bought the painting from the 1986 auction has confirmed that this work is the 1948 version of 'The Return'. The painting was first acquired by the London County Council from the Tate's 1948 exhibition 'Pictures for Schools'.  The Pictures for Schools programme was an initiative to put original works of art into schools all over the UK. The collector told us "it came in a fabulous travel box and I think it had some sort of label saying something like ‘Art for schools loan system'. This links the work to the London County Council whose collection was being sold in the 1986 auction. 

We have no record of the The Ship Inn, Weymouth (1932) as ever being sold. It should not be confused with another work with the same title, the large well known painting in Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, "The Ship Inn, Weymouth" painted in 1935. 

Just to complicate the story further, Richard did another painting titled The Return (c1952) which was shown in another 'Pictures for Schools' exhibition. However, the size and proportions of the two paintings are quite different.