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Harry Hudson Rodmell, (1896–1984)
Gale Force 8: Trawler in a Rough Sea, mid-20th C–late 20th C
Oil on paper marouflage on board
457 x 55.9 cm
National Maritime Museum, London
A trawler is fishing vessel that uses a trawl, a conical net that snares fish by being dragged through the water or along the bottom.
Harry Hudson Rodmell (28 May 1896 – 3 March 1984) was an English painter and Commercial artist, specialising in marine art. He studied at Hull School of Art before enlisting in the Royal Engineers during World War I. After demobilisation, he was recruited by Ronald Massey, a London agent seeking nautical illustrations for publicity material. Subsequently he produced work for many of the major shipping lines including P & O, Canadian Pacific and the British India Line. His longest running commission was a series of calendars for the tugboat company William Watkins Ltd.
After serving with the Royal Observer Corps during World War II, his graphic design work was largely replaced by commissioned oil paintings of new vessels. These were often produced from plans so that a painting could be completed before the vessel was launched. More Rodmell
Harry Hudson Rodmell, (1896–1984)
Tramp Steamer
Oil on canvas
64 x 55 cm
Sewerby Hall Museum and Art Gallery, Bridlington, England
Tramp steamer, one of the two principal types of merchant ships as classified by operating method (the other is the ocean liner). The tramp steamer, in contrast to the liner, operates without a schedule, going wherever required to deliver its cargoes. The tramp is a descendant of the early merchant ships whose masters (who were also their owners) loaded them with cargo at home to sell abroad, and vice versa. Tramps are used mainly for carrying bulk commodities or homogeneous cargoes in whole shiploads, with each voyage separately negotiated between the ship’s owner and the shipper, usually through a broker. More on Tramp steamers
Arthur John Trevor Briscoe, (1873–1943)
Clewing Up the Mainsail in Heavy Weather, c. 1925
Oil on canvas
66 x 101.8 cm
National Maritime Museum
The waist of a ship, looking forward, is depicted in a heavy sea. The mainmast intersects the image to the left, with two bare-footed figures in rolled-up shirt-sleeves hauling on the mainsail clew-line, while on the far left another man in boots looks aloft, probably to men working on the unseen main yard above. The viewer is looking down on the action from the height of a deckhouse roof and the image is off-centre and at an angle to create a sensation of a heaving deck. The sky is light to the top right and the sea is shown coming over the lee gunwale, in this demonstration of all the actions associated with a sailing ship in a heavy sea. More on this painting
Arthur John Trevor Briscoe (1873–1943), see below
Edward Moran, 1829 - 1901
“First Recognition of the American Flag by a Foreign Government”
Oil on canvas
U.S. Naval Academy
First Recognition of the American Flag by a Foreign Government, 14 February 1778 Painting in oils by Edward Moran, 1898. It depicts the Continental Navy Ship Ranger, commanded by Captain John Paul Jones, receiving the salute of the French fleet at Quiberon Bay, France, 14 February 1778. Earlier in the month, after receipt of news of the victory at Saratoga, France recognized the independence of the American colonies and signed a treaty of alliance with them. More on First Recognition of the American Flag
Andrew Doria was a brig purchased by the Continental Congress in November 1775. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Nassau—the first amphibious engagement by the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines—and for being the first United States vessel to receive a salute from a foreign power. More on The Andrew Doria
Edward Moran (August 19, 1829 in Bolton,
Lancashire, England – June 8, 1901 in New York City) was an American artist of maritime paintings. Moran was born in
England on August 19, 1829. Following in the footsteps of his father's
profession, he learned to operate a hand-loom at a young age, though he would
often be found sketching with charcoal on the white fabric instead of plying
the shuttle. His family first emigrated to Maryland in 1844, and then to
Philadelphia a year later.
It was in
Philadelphia around 1845 that Edward apprenticed under James Hamilton and
landscape painter Paul Weber; Hamilton guided Moran specifically in the style
of marine paintings. In the 1850s Moran began to make a name for himself in the
Philadelphia artistic scene; working in the same studio as his younger brother,
famous American painter Thomas Moran, Edward received commissions and even
completed some lithographic work. In 1862, he traveled to London and became a
pupil in the Royal Academy.
In 1885, at the height of his career, Moran
began on what would be considered his most important work - a series of 13
paintings representing the Marine History of the United States. He chose to
have thirteen paintings in the series because of the significance of the number
in American history (13 colonies, 13 stars and stripes on the original US flag,
etc.). The subjects include Leif Ericsson, Christopher Columbus, Hernando de
Soto, Henry Hudson, and Admiral Dewey, among others.[3] Not long after their
completion, the series was displayed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. More on
Edward Moran
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Constantinos Volanakis, (Crete 1837 -. Piraeus June 29, 1907)
The burning of a Turkish frigate
Oil on canvas
92 x 135 cm. (36.2 x 53.1 in.)
Private collection
"The Burning of a Turkish Frigate" depicts a strategic battle scheme used by Greek revolutionary fighters to attack their Turkish oppressors which eventually lead to the liberation of Greece. The tactic of attaching a small boat laden with explosives to the side of a frigate was used by maritime heroes such as Canaris, Papamanolis and Barbatsis. One of the most famous of such ambushes was the destruction of the 'Mansourija'. On the evening of 27 May 1821 the thirty-three-year-old freedom fighter Dimitris Papamanolis sailed his small vessel up to the port side of the frigate and set it ablaze. The devastating fire spread throughout the Turkish ship killing 600 sailors. More on this painting
Konstantinos Volanakis (1837, Heraklion -
29 June 1907, Piraeus) was
a Greek painter who became known as the "father of Greek seascape
painting". He completed his basic education on Syros in 1856. Afterward,
urged on by his brothers, he went to Trieste and became an accountant for a
family of Greek merchants who were related to his family by marriage. While
there, he made sketches of ships and harbors in his account books. Rather than
dismiss him, the family recognized his artistic talent, and made arrangements
for him to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, under Karl von Piloty,
joining a group of Greek students. His instructors discouraged any sort of
landscape painting, because it was "in decline", so he concentrated
on portraits.
His break
came in 1869, three years after the Battle of Lissa, when Emperor Franz Joseph
held a drawing competition to memorialize the event. Volanakis won the contest,
receiving 1000 gold Florins and free travel cruises with the Austrian navy for
three years. He took full advantage of this, producing numerous canvases and
sketches. He married in 1874. Nine years later he returned to Greece and
settled in Piraeus, where his family had a pottery factory.
From then
until 1903, he was a teacher at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He also
operated his own private school. In 1889, he was awarded the Silver Cross of
the Order of the Redeemer. He was, however, very poor in his later years, due
to his very large family and declining interest in his art. In an effort to
increase his income, he reversed the usual method of painting first, then
framing, by working with a group of framers who would make luxurious carved
frames first, then creating paintings to fit them.
He died from complications related to a major
hernia. Most of his works are in private collections. More
Volanakis
Arthur Briscoe, (1873-1943)
Ships
Arthur John Trevor Briscoe (1873–1943) studied at the Slade School and at Julien's in Paris. He was a keen sailor and lived aboard his yacht for some years with his first wife and young son. He also sailed in square-riggers that were the inspiration for many of his paintings. He was a brilliant etcher as well as being successful in oils and watercolours. He was also a first-class cartoonist, his work regularly illustrated in 'Yachting Monthly', and he exhibited at the Royal Academy. More on Arthur John Trevor Briscoe
Thomas Devany Forrestall, b. 1936
COVEBAY, SPRING, c. 1974
Watercolour
14.0 x 18.7 in
Private Collection
Thomas DeVany Forrestall, painter (b at Middleton, NS 11 Mar 1936). After graduating in 1958 from MOUNT ALLISON UNIVERSITY, Tom Forrestall was assistant curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton (1959), but became a full-time painter the following year. His realistic works, often done in egg tempera, convey his ideas of the East Coast landscape and its dwellings. From the early 1960s, Forrestall experimented with panels shaped from triangles to T-forms, each chosen to fit his painterly ideas. He has also painted a large number of out-of-doors watercolours which express much the same ideas as his egg tempera works, but in a more relaxed and joyous mood. His watercolours, in contrast to his more metaphysical and individual canvases, form one long series and deal with a sense of place. He became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986. More on Thomas DeVany Forrestall
Marc-Aurèle Fortin, 1888 - 1970
SAILING SHIP OFF THE COAST
Watercolour and charcoal
26.6 x 42.3 in
Private Collection
Marc-Aurèle Fortin (March 14, 1888 – March
2, 1970) was a Québécois painter, born in 1888
in Ste-Rose, Quebec. He studied art in Montreal and worked at the Montreal
Post Office, and at an Edmonton bank. He studied art abroad. He was known for
painting watercolour landscapes of the St. Lawrence Valley. He travelled around
the St. Lawrence Valley by bicycle. Fortin believed that "Canadian artists
should take their inspiration from the countryside and progress towards a
national art... We should excel in landscapes, exactly as the French do".
He was
part of the first Atelier exhibition at Henry Morgan Galleries in April 1932
together with Atelier founder John Goodwin Lyman, André Biéler, and Edwin
Holgate. Fortin was exhibited by Galerie L'Art français from the 1940s.
His works are displayed at the Montreal Museum
of Fine Arts in Montreal. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of
Arts. He died in 1970. More
Marc-Aurèle Fortin
Fritz Brandtner, 1896 - 1969
FISHING BOATS
Coloured inks
7.9 x 8.1 in
Private Collection
Friedrich Wilhelm Brandtner (28 July 1896 – 1969), known during his life as Fritz Brandtner, was a German-Canadian artist and art instructor. At one time or another he worked as painter, printmaker, graphic artist, illustrator, muralist, and set designer.
Brandtner emigrated to Canada from Germany in 1928. Following a short stay in Winnipeg he settled in Montreal in 1934. A prolific artist and thinker, he actively participated in the cultural life of Canada. He was a member of the Contemporary Arts Society in Montreal, serving as its first secretary. He was also a passionate art-educator. More on Friedrich Wilhelm Brandtner
William "St. Thomas" Smith
VILLAGE ON A ROCKY SHORE
Watercolour
27.1 x 41.3 in
Private Collection
William "St. Thomas" Smith (1862-1947) was born in Belfast, Ireland and died at St. Thomas, Ontario. His family emigrated to Canada when he was a child and settled at Beaverton, Ontario. He received his art training at the Ontario College of Art and reputedly it was there he received the nickname of "St. Thomas" to differentiate him from another art student also named "William Smith". Later he worked in the studio of J. W. L. Forster and formed a close friendship with Curtis Williamson. Their choice of Barbizon subjects influenced his early paintings. After marrying a local artist and teacher, Smith settled permanently in St. Thomas, Ontario and by 1887, was part of the art staff at Alma College. He traveled widely in Canada, Great Britain and Europe during his long career. Most of his work was in the medium of watercolour usually choosing landscape and seascapes as subjects. St. Thomas Smith was one of the early impressionistic painters and specialized in using a watercolour wet paper technique to achieve atmospheric effects. His art was exhibited at the Ontario Society of Artists, the Royal Canadian Academy, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition and many commercial galleries. Smith’s career was highlighted by an honorary degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1940 and a retrospective by our institution in 1947. More on William St. Thomas Smith
Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)
HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS PHOENIX, ROEBUCK AND TARTAR, ACCOMPANIED BY THREE SMALLER VESSELS, FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE CHEVAL-DE-FRISE ON THE HUDSON RIVER BETWEEN FORTS WASHINGTON AND LEE, NEW YORK, 9 OCTOBER 1776, c. 1779
Oil on canvas
25 by 47 7/8 in.
Private Collection
The painting depicts an important action during the Revolutionary War, shortly after the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Having defeated the Continental Army at the Battle of White Plains, General Howe ordered a small squadron of British war ships, under the command of Captain Hyde Parker in H.M.S. Phoenix, to occupy the Hudson River and prevent the remaining Continental troops on Manhattan Island from receiving supplies in preparation for his assault on Fort Washington. Serres illustrates the Phoneix, together with H.M.S. Roebuck, under the command of Captain A.S. Hammond, H.M.S. Tartar, commanded by Captain George Jackson, and three smaller vessels forcing their way through a cheval-de-frise, comprised of artificial barriers and sunken vessels defending the north part of the river.
Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)
Detail; HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS PHOENIX, ROEBUCK AND TARTAR, ACCOMPANIED BY THREE SMALLER VESSELS, FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE CHEVAL-DE-FRISE ON THE HUDSON RIVER BETWEEN FORTS WASHINGTON AND LEE, NEW YORK, 9 OCTOBER 1776, c. 1779
Oil on canvas
25 by 47 7/8 in.
Private Collection
Dominic Serres, R.A. (Auch 1722 - 1793 London)
Detail
On the right lies Fort Washington, on a large outcrop at the northern end of Manhattan, with its several shore batteries engaging the enemy at close range, whilst from the left the British forces are bombarded by the guns of Fort Lee, sitting atop the New Jersey Palisades. Despite the heavy bombardment Captain Parker and his fleet passed successfully through, capturing two gunboats in the process, and he was subsequently knighted in 1779 for his heroic efforts.
Dominic Serres the Elder RA (1722 - 1793)
English Frigates in the Channel, c. 1789
Pen and grey ink and watercolour on a laid paper
124 mm x 181 mm
Royal Academy of Arts
In the 18th century, Frigate referred to ships that were usually as long as a ship of the line and were square-rigged on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armaments upon a single continuous deck — the upper deck — while ships of the line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns. More on Frigates
Dominic Serres RA (1722–1793), also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme. Such were his connections with the English art world, that he became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and was later briefly (from 1792 until his death) its librarian.
Born in Auch, Gascony, he was initially expected to train as a priest but instead travelled to Spain and became a ship's captain, sailing to Cuba. He was taken prisoner by the British navy towards the end of the 1740s and eventually settled in London in about 1758, where it is believed he trained as a painter in Northamptonshire and later in London under Charles Brooking. If Serres did not settle in London until 1758, however, he could not have studied for long under Charles Brooking, since Brooking was buried on 25 March 1759.
Reflecting his early career, many of his paintings have naval themes. Working for a publisher documenting the events in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), he painted a series of depictions including the capture of Havana in 1762. He also painted events in the American Revolutionary War, such as the disastrous Penobscot Expedition launched by the Americans in 1779. In 1780, he was appointed Marine Painter to King George III.
Serres died in 1793, and was buried at St. Marylebone Old Church. His eldest son John Thomas Serres (1759–1825) also became a prolific marine artist. More on Dominic Serres
Robert Salmon (1775 - c. 1845)
STORMY SEAS, c. 1827
Oil on panel
12 1/4 by 17 3/4 in.
Private Collection
Robert Salmon, American, born England, 1775 - c. 1845, was born in Whitehaven, a port situated on the northwest coast of England. Although his artistic beginnings are unknown, his career can be divided into two periods. Between 1800 and 1828 he lived in England and Scotland, and his work faithfully recorded the environs of Liverpool and Greenock. Salmon's style at this time reflected the influence of Dutch maritime painters. In many of his paintings, he adopted the low horizon and clear, sparkling light effects typical of Dutch seascapes.
After 1828 Salmon moved to Boston. Although he was regarded as an eccentric, solitary man, he was highly thought of as an artist, and he soon became a leading maritime painter in the area. His paintings were admired for their detailed panoramic views of Boston's wharves and shorelines. While in Boston, Salmon also worked in the lithography studio of William S. Pendleton with Fitz Hugh Lane, during which time his maritime paintings became a model for Lane's work. More on Robert Salmon
Robert Salmon, (1775 - c. 1845)
A STORM OFF THE COAST, c. 1815
Oil on panel
23.5 x 29.21 cm. (9.3 x 11.5 in.)
Private collection
Acknowledgement: WADDINGTONS, Sotheby's,
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