Plymouth
Newcastle-born Hemy is regarded as one of the greatest painters of maritime subjects of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. His friend the painter Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) wrote of his unique skills as a draughtsman of wave forms and of his having a rare ability to interpret the sea. Hemy's subjects included the picturesque charm and monstrous power of the sea, and the fishermen of the south west coast who struggled to make a living from it. As a child Hemy made several adventurous voyages with his family. In 1856 he ran away to sea as an apprentice on a collier brig but eventually gave up the sailor's life to pursue his true vocation as a painter. Settling in Falmouth in the 1880s he converted an old pilchard boat to a floating studio which he stabilised with three tons of granite ballast. He later converted a yacht into a studio, enabling him to spend days at sea studying shipping. He settled in Falmouth in 1881 and his paintings after that date, including Plymouth, record the south west coast with accuracy and affection.
