Marine Painting High Tide off Trebarwith Strand Dramatic Cornish Shipwreck Signed by Charles Sim Mottram RBA c1894
“High Tide off Trebarwith Strand” 🌊⚓️
Dramatic Cornish Shipwreck Masterpiece Signed by Charles Sim Mottram RBA c.1894
Subject & Medium 🎨
This is a powerful late-Victorian marine watercolour & bodycolour heightened with white by Charles Sim Mottram, titled High Tide off Trebarwith Strand and dated 1894. The subject is the wild north Cornish coast at Trebarwith Strand, near Tintagel – a steep, cliff-backed beach facing directly onto the Atlantic.
A full-rigged sailing vessel has run aground and is floundering just beyond the line of surf, breaking up on unseen rocks. The stern rises and falls in the swell; shattered masts and spars tilt at dangerous angles. On the beach below the cliffs, a crowd of fishermen, lifeboat men and local villagers hurry to the water’s edge as the drama unfolds.
Executed in watercolour with bodycolour (white heightening) on paper, this is an original 19th-century work.
Composition & Technique 🖌️
Mottram arranges the scene as a broad panoramic strip, allowing the viewer to follow the narrative from foreground to horizon.
In the foreground, wet sand catches and reflects the light; tracks, footprints and small pools show where the tide has recently drawn back. A strong diagonal of figures leads the eye from the lower left towards the centre: fishermen in traditional sou’wester caps and work clothes brace themselves against the pull of thick, tarred ropes and wreckage on the shore that disappear into the surf. Some lean forward with their full weight; others steady the line or gesture urgently towards the stricken ship. Closer to the cliffs, more fishermen and children gather in small groups, hands raised to shade their eyes as they watch the scene offshore.
In the middle distance, heavy Atlantic rollers are built up in bands of blue-grey and green. Mottram breaks the crests with dense bodycolour to suggest foam and flying spray, giving the sea real weight and movement. The wrecked vessel lies just beyond the main line of breakers, its dark hull and jagged spars sharply silhouetted against the paler water. Fragments of rigging and broken mastwork intensify the sense of danger and imminent loss.
In the distance, a headland and lower cliffs close the view, firmly locating the scene on the Cornish coast, while a layered, low sky presses down over the composition. Gulls wheel above the wreck, described with a few economical strokes that add life and scale.
Technically, the work shows confident use of broad transparent washes for sky and distance, more solid modelling for cliffs and figures, and crisp, opaque highlights for foam, spray and key details. The balance between careful draughtsmanship and expressive brushwork is exactly what collectors seek in a serious Victorian marine watercolour.
About The Artist 👨🎨
Charles Sim Mottram RBA (British, 1852–1919) was a respected late-Victorian marine and coastal painter. Based in London, he travelled widely to the west and south-west coasts of Britain, with Cornwall providing some of his most dramatic subjects.
He specialised in shipwrecks, lifeboat launches and storm-lashed seas, alongside quieter harbour views and coastal scenes. His work was regularly exhibited in London, including at the Institute of Painters in Water Colours (later the Royal Institute), and is admired for its combination of narrative drama and closely observed sea and weather.
Mottram is occasionally confused with the earlier engraver Charles Mottram, but this painting is unequivocally by Charles Sim Mottram the marine painter: the signature, subject matter, period and watercolour handling are all entirely characteristic of his work. His Cornish subjects are especially sought after, with a St Ives scene achieving $20,129 US Dollars at Tennants in 2013.
Historical Significance 📜
This watercolour is a finely balanced, securely dated example of Mottram’s mature marine work. It conveys not only the power of the Atlantic on the north Cornish coast, but also the shared experience of a coastal community: men risking themselves at the water’s edge, women and children watching anxiously from slightly higher ground.
Trebarwith Strand is a much-loved and dramatic stretch of coastline, and works that combine a specific, recognisable Cornish location with this scale and level of narrative drama are particularly desirable and highly valued by collectors of Cornish art and British marine painting.
The original late-19th-century exhibition-type label on the reverse, giving the full title, location, artist’s name, London banking address and original price, links the work directly to the Victorian exhibition and retail system and confirms that it was conceived as a substantial professional piece rather than a minor sketch.
Provenance & Exhibition 🧾
– Originally exhibited in a London watercolour exhibition in the late 19th century, as indicated by the original exhibition-type label verso, which is entirely consistent with the Institute of Painters in Water Colours (later the Royal Institute).
Inscribed with the title “High Tide”, the location “off Trebarwith Strand”, the artist’s name and his London banking address, “c/o London & County Bank, High Holborn W.C.”, together with the original price in manuscript. Thence in private ownership in the United Kingdom; later in a private collection in Gwynedd, Wales, where both painting and label were preserved. Offered and sold through a notable North West–based auction house, label verso.
Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD and exhibited in Atlantic Drama: Shipwrecks & Lifeboat Heroes on the Cornish Coast, Winter 2025, Famous Lord Hill Museum, among a selection of significant British marine and Cornish coastal works from private collections. Now offered from this curated collection.
Signed ✒️
The painting is signed at the lower right “Chas S Mottram 94”, confirming both the artist and the 1894 date. The signature is clear, fluent and consistent with other recorded examples by Charles Sim Mottram. On the reverse label the artist again writes his name as “Chas S Mottram”, providing an additional confirmation of authorship in his own hand.
Framed & Glazed 🖼️
The watercolour is presented in an attractive gilt moulded Larson-Juhl frame, recently professionally fitted. This high-quality contemporary moulding is sympathetic to both the period and the subject, giving the work a classic, gallery-ready appearance while ensuring the structure and materials meet modern standards. An inner slip further sets off the image and adds depth.
To the front, it is protected by AR70 glass – a premium, low-reflection glazing that significantly reduces glare and offers enhanced UV filtration compared with standard glass. This improves viewing in modern interiors (especially under artificial light or near windows) and helps protect the delicate watercolour pigments from light damage over time.
As the frame has been recently installed, it presents very cleanly, with only the most minimal handling marks, and is ready to hang.
Framed Size 📏: 67.5 cm high × 109.5 cm wide × 3 cm deep
The wide panoramic format and substantial overall size give the painting real presence on the wall. It is notably larger than many Victorian watercolours and works especially well above a sofa, sideboard, fireplace or in a stairwell, where its sweep and detailed narrative can be fully appreciated.
Why You'll Love It ✅❤️
✅ Dramatic late-Victorian shipwreck scene on the rugged Cornish coast at Trebarwith Strand, rich in narrative and human interest.
✅ Large, exhibition-scale watercolour with an impressive panoramic format that makes a genuine statement on the wall.
✅ Well-documented work by Charles Sim Mottram, complete with original Victorian exhibition-type label giving title, location, name and London banking address, plus a recent curated museum exhibition history.
✅ Combines strong regional and historical appeal (Cornwall, Trebarwith Strand, the Victorian maritime story) with excellent decorative impact for both traditional and contemporary interiors.
✅ Professionally presented in a recently fitted gilt moulded Larson-Juhl frame and AR70 low-reflection, UV-filtering glass – it looks superb, is well protected, and is ready to hang and enjoy immediately.
Condition 🔍
The watercolour presents very well for its age. Colours remain strong and atmospheric, with no obvious fading to either sea or sky when viewed through the glass. The sheet appears flat and properly supported within the frame, with no pronounced cockling visible from the front. Under normal viewing conditions there are no evident tears, holes or visible repairs to the painted surface.
The original exhibition-type label on the reverse is heavily browned and shows foxing, staining and some paper losses – exactly what you would expect from a genuine late-19th-century label that has travelled with the work for more than a century. Crucially, the inscription remains legible and the label is stable and securely attached.
The painting has not been examined out of the frame and is therefore sold as seen. As with all authentic Victorian works on paper, small age-related characteristics should be expected and are part of its charm and provenance.
