Lot 93: Jamie Medlin (b. 1970)

Jamie Medlin (b. 1970)
Stiffening Breeze: Tuiga and Mariquita reaching out off St. Tropez, 2007
signed 'Jamie Medlin' (lower right)
oil on canvas
40 x 60 in. (101.5 x 152.5 cm.)

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
This spectacular work by Jamie Medlin shows two splendid veterans, both almost a century old, still racing and able to compete at international level despite their advancing years.

Tuiga, a magnificent wooden cutter, was built by William Fife in his yard at Fairlie, Ayrshire, in 1909, as an exact copy of Hispania, the yacht he himself had designed for H.M. Alphonso XIII, the King of Spain, earlier the same year. Ordered by the Duke of Medinacelli, a close friend of the Spanish monarch, as a running mate for Hispania, Tuiga was registered at 50 tons gross (28.7 net) and measured 63 feet in length with a 13 foot beam. Rated at 15 metres, she carried 4,460 square feet of canvas under full sail and, whilst in Spanish ownership, was kept at Santander. Sold to J.M.H. Lindvig of Christiania (Norway) in 1920, her new owner renamed her Betty IV and so began a lifetime of changing names and owners through which she somehow survived to the present day. Finally reverting to her original name, Tuiga, along with her companion in the work offered here, Mariquita, are now amongst that celebrated band of thoroughbreds which still adorn the international racing circuit despite their remarkable age.

Mariquita, an equally majestic cutter, was also designed and built by William Fife, her first owner being Mr. A.K. Stothert of Kensington. Completed in May 1911, she was registered at 100 tons gross (60 net) and measured 82 feet in length with a 17 foot beam. Stothert enjoyed good sport with her until the Great War began in 1914, at which point she was laid up for the duration of hostilities. Sometime during the War, she was sold to Finn Bugge of Tonsberg (Norway) who renamed her Maud IV but she returned to British ownership in 1922 when Mr. Henry Garrett of Kensington acquired her and restored her original name. Thereafter retaining her christened name through numerous changes of ownership, she even suffered the ignominy of becoming a houseboat after the Second World War before finally being rescued and restored to her former glory.