Specimen Wood Half Model of the Original J Class Yacht Rainbow

A specimen wood half-block model of the J Class yacht Rainbow, designed by G. L. Watson, carved by Peter Ward, late 20th century, with cut-away masts, the hull finished in black and varnish, mounted on a varnished block board with gilt lettering RAINBOW and 10 TONS. DESIGNED BY G. L. WATSON, 18 ft, the reverse with maker’s stamp PETER WARD POOLE ENGLAND, 1934, 15 cm high, 48 cm wide overall. Provenance: Christie’s, South Kensington, 31 October 2002, lot 202. Property of a Distinguished Family Collection. Launched in 1897, the schooner Rainbow was designed by the celebrated Scottish naval architect G. L. Watson, who regarded her as one of the finest cruising-racing yachts ever constructed. Combining power, balance and exceptional seaworthiness, Rainbow stood as a benchmark of late-Victorian yacht design and represented the very height of Watson’s achievement. George Lennox Watson (1851–1904) was among the most influential yacht designers of his generation. Born in Glasgow, he developed an early fascination with yachts while spending holidays on the Firth of Clyde, an interest that would shape his life’s work. Apprenticed as a draughtsman in his teens, Watson went on to establish the world’s first yacht design office dedicated solely to small craft, a pioneering step that transformed yacht architecture. His designs quickly earned an international reputation, attracting commissions from some of the most prominent owners of the age, including the Vanderbilt family, Sir Thomas Lipton, the Rothschilds and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Over the course of a remarkably productive career, Watson designed more than 400 vessels, ranging from racing yachts and cruising schooners to lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, where his work became synonymous with strength, reliability and seaworthiness. Rainbow, the largest sailing schooner of her time, remains one of his most celebrated creations and a lasting testament to Watson’s genius as a naval architect.