34 Photographs and Paintings, HMT River Clyde, 1905 - 1966

James Kay RSA RSW (British, 1858-1942)

Launch on the Clyde 

signed 'James Kay RSW' (lower right)

oil on canvas

30 x 45 cm. (11 13/16 x 17 11/16 in.

SS River Clyde was a 3,913 GRT British collier built by Russell & Co of Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde and completed in March 1905. In the First World War the Admiralty requisitioned her for the Royal Navy and in 1915 she took part in the Gallipoli landings. More

James Kay (22 October 1858 - 26 September 1942) was a Scottish artist notable for his paintings of the landscapes and shipping around the River Clyde. Born on the Isle of Arran, Kay spent much of his working life with a studio in Glasgow and living at Portincaple on Loch Long in Argyll and Bute. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 1906 and to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1938. He had one daughter, artist Violet McNeish Kay. More

CLYDE RIVER SS, built by Russell & Co. in 1905

Allfree, Geoffrey Stephen, (1889 – 1918) 

SS River Clyde and the Bridge of Boats at Helles, c. 1915

Watercolour on paper

Height 342 mm,  Width 512 mm

Imperial War Museum

Early in 1915 River Clyde was adapted to be a landing ship for the joint French and British invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula.


Openings were cut in her steel hull as sally ports from which troops would emerge onto gangways and then to a bridge of smaller boats from the ship to the beach. Boiler plate and sandbags were mounted on her bow, and behind them a battery of 11 machine guns was installed. The machine gun battery was manned by Royal Naval Air Service men commanded by Josiah Wedgwood. Work began on painting River Clyde's hull sandy yellow as camouflage, but this was incomplete by the time of the landing.

Geoffrey Stephen Allfree (11/02/1889 – 29/09/1918) was born to Rev Francis Allfree. Although  a  trained  mariner his career  had  changed  direction by 1911,  when he is described as a painter whilst  staying  at  Church  Cottages,  Stopham  in  Sussex.  When  war  broke  out,  he  volunteered  in  October  1914  and  was commissioned  a  Sub-‐Lieutenant  in  the  RNVR.  He  served  initially  in  the  Royal Naval  Division,  despite  its  name  an  infantry  division  formed  of  surplus  to requirement  reservists  and  volunteers  from  the  Royal  Navy  and  Royal  Marines.

Geoffrey Stephen Allfree married Alice Maud Mary Godwin in 1914.

In January 1918 he was made an official war artist. In  September  1918,  Allfree  lost  his  life  whilst  in command  of  HMML  247; A  four boat  flotilla  of Motor  Launches  had  entered  St  Ives  Bay  for  shelter  during  a  strong  southerly gale,  which  rapidly  escalated  to  hurricane  force  winds.  In  the  eye  of  the  storm,the  Motor  Launches  started  engines  and  tried  desperately  to  work  their  way  into  deeper  water.  Allfree’s  launch  developed  engine  trouble,  one  mile  off  Clodgy Point  and  started  to  drift  helplessly  towards  Oar  Rock.  The  St.  Ives’  lifeboat  raced to  reach  the  stricken  ship,  but  arrived  minutes  too  late  by  which  time  the  launch  had  blown  up  on  impact  with  the  rock,  presumably  as  its  depth  charges detonated.  There was only one survivor. More

Surgeon Oscar Parkes

SS RIVER CLYDE shortly before beaching herself on 'V' Beach at Cape Helles, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915.

The view of V Beach shortly after the attempted landing by the 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers at approximately 06.25,  25th April 1915.

This photo was probably taken from starboard side of River Clyde. On the beach head can be seen the huddled figures of men of the Munster battalion and Dublin battalion who made it to the beach, seeking cover of a sand bank. The Munster's landing from the River Clyde until they were stopped, and the Dublin's landing from tow boats. This is the scene shortly after the initial attempts to land in daylight, the barge and tethered ships boat being the only access to shore. The other connecting boats to the beach could not be anchored into position, due to the combination of a strong current and massive fire power from the Turkish defender's.  More

Wilkinson, Norman

The Base Camp, Cape Helles, Under Shell Fire, August 1915- the "ss River Clyde" is seen aground

Watercolour on paper

Imperial War Museum

A scene of several troop-ships under fire from the shore in a rough sea. To the left of the composition, the 'River Clyde' is run aground and listing to one side. Over to the right another ship is seen vanishing beneath the surface, and there are two small boats filled with troops in the foreground. A high sand-coloured cliff runs almost the length of the composition in the background, and a clear sky above. From the surrounding gunfire there are two large sprays rising from the sea, and two clouds of grey smoke. More

Norman Wilkinson CBE RI (24 November 1878 – 31 May 1971) was a British artist who usually worked in oils, watercolors and drypoint. He was primarily a marine painter, but he was also an illustrator, poster artist, and wartime camoufleur. Wilkinson invented "Dazzle Painting", World War I camouflage, to protect merchant shipping during World War I. More

Charles Edward Dixon

British Troops from the River Clyde Land at V Beach, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915 

St Mary's Parish Church Chepstow Gwent Wales

Charles Edward Dixon (8 December 1872 - 12 September 1934) was a British maritime painter of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, whose work was highly successful and regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy. Several of his paintings are held by the National Maritime Museum and he was a regular contributing artist to magazines and periodicals. He lived at Itchenor in Sussex and died in 1934. More

Shortly before midnight on April the 24th the flotilla left for the Peninsula. The River Clyde grounded 40 yards from the beach before the tows reached the beach, almost immediately a devastating fire caught the crowded boats and within a few minutes terrible losses had been inflicted, men trying to escape jumped into the water and a large amount drowned due to there heavy equipment. Commander Unwin managed to get three lighters in tow on her starboard side into position to make a bridge, giving the troops a chance to dash along the gangways to shore. Only a handful achieved their purpose and the gangways were soon filled with dead and wounded. The sailor helping Commander Unwin was killed and the lighters drifted into deeper water. More

Charles Dixon RA. (1872-1934)

The collier "River Clyde" disembarking 'V' Beach, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915

St Mary’s Priory & Parish Church Chepstow

Charles Dixon RA. (1872-1934)

The collier "River Clyde" disembarking 'V' Beach, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915

Detail

Charles Dixon RA. (1872-1934)

The collier "River Clyde" disembarking 'V' Beach, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915

Detail 2

Charles Dixon RA. (1872-1934)

The collier "River Clyde" disembarking 'V' Beach, Gallipoli, 25th April 1915

Detail 3

A vintage illustration of Irish and Australian soldiers landing at Gallipoli off the troop ship, the 'River Clyde' to begin the Dardanelles Campaign during World War One on 25th April 1915. 

More

A Turkish shell bursts near the hulk of the River Clyde, the ship which landed on day one of the Gallipoli invasion 

More

Brooks, Ernest (Lieutenant) (Photographer)

THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN, APRIL 1915-JANUARY 1916

Photography

Imperial War Museum

Ernest Brooks (23 February 1878 — after 1936) was a British photographer, best known for his war photography from the First World War. He was the first official photographer to be appointed by the British military, and produced several thousand images between 1915 and 1918, more than a tenth of all British official photographs taken during the war. His work was often relatively posed and formal, but several of his less conventional images are marked by a distinctive use of silhouette. Before and immediately after the war he worked as an official photographer to the Royal Family, but was dismissed from this appointment and stripped of his official honours in 1925. More

Le Pays de France , No. 221, January 9, 1919, p. 10.

The SS RIVER CLYDE which, loaded with troops, was run ashore on 'V' beach at Sedd el Bahr on Cape Helles during the Gallipoli landings.

Graham C N (Lt)

GALLIPOLI 1915

Photography

Imperial War Museum

Bombardment and Landings: Machine guns and armour being fitted to the SS RIVER CLYDE for the landing at 'V' Beach, Cape Helles. More

James Clark (1858–1943) 

River Clyde, Gallipoli, c. 1915

39 x 51.5 cm

Oil on canvas on board

Austrailian War Memorial

The picture shows the ship "River Clyde" at Gallipoli. the ship the 'River Clyde' is pictured at a pontoon wharf being loaded or unloaded. Three men are on the wharf and there are several other vessels in the background. in the foreground are three row boats and what appears to be a Gallipoli landing boat. Lower left corner shows a stack of artillery shells. More

James Clark (1858–1943) was a provincial English painter born in West Hartlepool, in north-east England. He rose to prominence in 1914 when his painting entitled The Great Sacrifice was reproduced as the souvenir print issued by The Graphic illustrated newspaper. More

SS RIVER CLYDE beached at 'V' Beach during the Cape Helles landings. Note the 'Old Castle' or Sedd el Bahr Kale in the background. More

Photography

Imperial War Museum

SS RIVER CLYDE beached at 'V' Beach during the Cape Helles landings. Note the boat, numbered 323, full of troops on the side of the RIVER CLYDE. More

Photography

Imperial War Museum

Hillier, Herbert

River Clyde Aground on V Beach, May 18th 1915

Watercolour on paper

Imperial War Museum

The SS River Clyde run aground on V Beach surrounded by other smaller vessels and shrouded in smoke from artillery fire. Sedd-el-Bahr is just beyond, but is completely covered by smoke. More

Hillier, Herbert

Helles Sector, 10am, May 18th 1915

Pencil on paper

Height 149 mm, Width 220 mm

Imperial War Museum

Royal Navy warships off Cape Helles. In the right foreground, battleship HMS Implacable sails towards land, with a French destroyer and HMS Majestic to the left. SS River Clyde, deliberately run aground on V Beach during the initial landings, is visible in the centre, with the Sedd-el-Bahr fort overlooking the beach. Clouds of smoke show where shells have fallen. More

Frank Henry Mason (1 October 1875 – 24 February 1965)

Sedd-el-Bahr : the transport "River Clyde" at the corner of the Spit, and salvage steamers standing by to refloat her

Watercolour on paper

Imperial War Museum

Seascape with a low headland in front of darker hills. In the middle ground a small vessel is under way, while to the right part of a merchant ship is visible near the headland, with other small vessels nearby. More

Frank Henry Mason (1 October 1875 – 24 February 1965), RBA, RI, RSMA was an artist best known for his maritime, shipping, coastal and harbour paintings, and as a creator of art deco travel and railway posters. His style is described as 'light impressionist' and he was a founder member of the Staithes Art Club whose members are known today as the Staithes group of artists, or the Northern Impressionists. More

William Lionel Wyllie  (London 5 July 1851 – 6 April 1931 London)

Gallipoli: V-Beach and the fort of Sedd-el-Bahr, seen from the 'River Clyde', 25 April 1915, circa 1915

Watercolour, heightened with white

301 mm x 470 mm

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection

William Lionel Wyllie (often simply W L Wyllie) (London 5 July 1851 – 6 April 1931 London) was a prolific English painter of maritime themes in both oils and watercolours. He has been described as "the most distinguished marine artist of his day." His work is in the Tate, the Royal Academy, the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and many other institutions around the world. More

On 25 April 1915 River Clyde sailed to take part in the landing at Cape Helles. She was carrying 2,000 soldiers; mostly from 86th Brigade units of the 29th Division: the 1st Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers and men from the 1st Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Unknown

The River Clyde lands at Sedd-el-Bahr, 1915

Mary Beattie Scott

Landing at ‘V’ Beach, Cape Helles, Turkey on 25th April 1915 from the Collier the River Clyde. 

Clay Marquette

St Paul's Cathedral

Unwin beached River Clyde at V Beach beneath the Sedd el Bahr castle, on the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula. The plan failed and the River Clyde, beached under the guns of the Turkish defenders, became a death trap. Three attempts to land all ended in costly failure. Further landing attempts were abandoned and the surviving soldiers waited until nightfall before trying again.

Graham C N (Lt), Photographer

The converted steamer, SS RIVER CLYDE, anchored at 'V' Beach, after the allied landings at Gallipoli, Spring 1915

Photography

Imperial War Museum

Members of River Clyde's crew maintained the bridge from the ship to the beach and recovered the wounded. For their bravery six of them were decorated with Victoria Crosses. More

Frank H Mason

HM Submarine M1 off Sedd-el-Bahr : salvage operations in progress on the transport "River Clyde"

Oil on canvas

Height 762 mm, Width 1270 mm

The submarine monitor HMS/M M1 at sea off the Turkish coast near Sedd-el-Bahr, with the rusted remains of the SS River Clyde in the background by the coastline. More

The converted steamer ‘River Clyde’, Gallipoli, Spring 1915

The National Musium

The ‘River Clyde’ remained beached at Helles as a dock and breakwater. As well as being used for storage she also housed a field dressing station. From an album of 49 official photographs entitled, ‘The War 1914-1918’. Photograph, World War One, Gallipoli (1915). More

The artificial harbor of Sed-ul-Bahr, with the beached River Clyde

More

Sketch of 'V' Beach

Upon the allies leaving the region, in December, the RIVER CLYDE was abandoned and left aground on the coast.

In 1919, River Clyde was refloated by the Ocean Salvage Co. and taken to Malta. The British Government refused a proposal to purchase her to return to the UK for mooring in the River Thames as a monument to the landings because of the cost. Consequently she was repaired at Malta and sold to civilian Spanish owners. 

A small sea-lion, representing Great Britain, with flippers impaled on points of Turkish crescent. The cartoon refers to the British defeat by Turkey in the Dardanelles campaign, 1915.

Library of Congress

Steamer MARUJA AND AURORA

Sanchez Jaume Cifre collection

She operated as a tramp steamer in the Mediterranean, first as Angela and then Maruja y Aurora. Maruja and Aurora were the names of the eldest child of each of the two partners in the company, Gumersindo Junquera Blanco and Vicente Figaredo Herrero.

She was seized by Spanish Nationalist forces at Santander in August 1937 and used by the Nationalist navy, during which time she captured the steamship Margarita. 

Margarita SS (1902~1922)

She made trips between Santander and Ferrol, and carried troops between Gijon and Bilbao. Returned to her former owners 18 months later, she resumed her previous commercial role, and she rescued three British airmen during World War II.

In 1965 there was an attempt to buy and preserve River Clyde but, again,  the British Government were unwilling to purchase her, and in 1966 she was sold for £42,000 for scrap and broken up at Avilés, Spain. More

 ‘River Clyde’ seen at Malta after being salvaged in 1919

I was unable to find any biographies for Mary Beattie Scott,  Herbert Hillier, 
Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others

25 Classic Works of Art, Marine and Seascape Paintings - with footnotes -10

William Lee Hankey

The Louvain Basin, Boulogne

20.25 X 24 in (51.44 X 60.96 cm)

Oil on canvas

Private collection

William Lee Hankey (1869–1952) RWS, RI, ROI, RE, NS was a British painter and book illustrator.[2] He specialised in landscapes, character studies and portraits of pastoral life, particularly in studies of mothers with young children such as "We’ve Been in the Meadows All Day".

He was born in Chester and worked as a designer after leaving school. He studied art in the evenings at the Chester School of Art, then at the Royal College of Art. Later in Paris he became influenced by the work of Jules Bastien-Lepage, who also favoured rustic scenes depicted in a realistic but sentimental style. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1896 and was President of the London Sketch Club from 1902 to 1904. He stayed in France in the early 1900s, painting many of his works in Brittany and Normandy, where he depicted a peasant lifestyle which was already disappearing in England. From 1904 until well after World War I he maintained a studio at the Etaples art colony.

It was Hankey's black and white and coloured etchings of the people of Étaples, several developed from his paintings, which gained him a reputation as 'one of the most gifted of the figurative printmakers working in original drypoint during the first thirty years of the 20th century'. One that is particularly striking for its stylistic presentation was "The Refugees", his contribution to raising awareness of the consequences for ordinary people of the German invasion of France and Belgium in 1914. He went on to serve with the Artists' Rifles from 1915 to 1918.

In Britain he had been associated with the Newlyn School, a group of English artists based in the titular village in Cornwall who were themselves influenced by the romantic poets such as Wordsworth and Keats. More on William Lee Hankey

Konstantinos Volanakis, (1837–1907)

Sailing boats in the sunrise

16.14 X 12.99 in (41 X 33 cm)

Oil on panel

Private collection

Vasileios Chatzis, Patra 1870 - 1915

In calm waters

15.16 X 30.12 in (38.5 X 76.5 cm)

oil on canvas

Creation Date:  1997

Vasileios Chatzis, (Patra 1870 - 1915). After spending his childhood in Patra, he studied at Athens School of Fine Arts (1886-1893) under professors Nikiphoros Lytras and Konstantinos Volanakis. He began to exhibit in 1899 when he participated in the Exhibition of Athens and then presented  his works in group exhibitions in Athens and Alexandria.

During the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, he embarked, by government order, on warships and captured scenes of the actions carried out by the Greek fleet. Known mainly as a painter of seascapes, he was also dealt with landscapes and the depiction of scenes from lives of farmers and fishermen, sometimes appearing to be an adherent of academicism or of open air approaches.More on Vasileios Chatzis

Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907)

Harbour scene

27.36 X 21.65 in (69.5 X 55 cm)

Oil on canvas

Private collection

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 (see Blow), 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, despite warnings from Gyzis that it would ruin his career, he returned to Greece and settled in Piraeus, where his family had a pottery factory, citing pressure from his wife, whose health was suffering from the cold winters in Germany.

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. More on Konstantinos Volanakis

Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907)

Naval battle at Lissa, c. Date 1869

Oil on canvas

283 × 169 cm (111.4 × 66.5 in)

National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum

The Battle of Lissa took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Lissa and was a decisive victory for an outnumbered Austrian Empire force over a numerically superior Italian force. It was the first major sea battle between ironclads and one of the last to involve deliberate ramming.

The Italian navy fired roughly 1450 shots during the engagement, but failed to do any serious damage to any Austrian ship while losing two battleships. One of the main reasons for this poor performance was internal rivalry between the Italian fleet commanders. The engagement was made up of several small battles: the main battle was between seven Austrian and four Italian ironclads and showed the ability of Austrian commander Tegetthoff to divide his more numerous opponents and then destroy the isolated ironclads. More on The Battle of Lissa

Spyros Vassiliou (1903-1985) 

The red boat, c. 1970

20.87 X 28.74 in (53 X 73 cm)

 Acrylic on canvas

Private collection

Spyros Vassiliou (1903-1985) was a Greek painter, printmaker, illustrator, and stage designer. He became widely recognized for his work starting in the 1930s, when he received the Benaki Prize from the Athens Academy. The recipient of a Guggenheim Prize for Greece (in 1960), Spyros Vassiliou's works have been exhibited in galleries throughout Europe, in the United States, and Canada. More on Spyros Vassiliou

Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten (Amsterdam 1622-1666)

A Mediterranean ‘capriccio’ harbour with figures conversing on a quay

and a Dutch three-master mooring beyond, c. 1665

Oil on canvas

75.5 x 65.5 cm.

Private collection

Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten (1622 in Amsterdam – July 1666 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter of marine art and landscapes, particularly of events of the First Anglo-Dutch War and Dutch-Swedish War. 

There is some confusion about the identity of four landscape painters named Beerstraaten; Johannes, this Jan Abrahamsz, Abraham, and Anthonie. Jan Abrahamsz, painter, married in Amsterdam on 30 August 1642. From this marriage eleven children were born, and when he married a second time in 1665, a daughter was born. Currently, The RKD records Johannes as the same person, and Abraham Beerstraaten is considered to be his oldest son.

Anthonie Beerstraaten was related to this painter. The RKD has registered two paintings signed Anthonie van Beerstraten: one is a view of a southern seaport from 1664 (currently location Enkhuizen) and the other a view of a church in Aarlanderveen in the former city hall of Alphen aan den Rijn. Based on these two paintings C. Hofstede de Groot an early Dutch art historian, classified paintings signed A. Beerstraaten as by Anthonie if they were a poorer grade than ones already attributed to Abraham. More on Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten

Fausto Pratella, (Italian, Napels 1888-1946 Napels)

Fishermen in the bay of Naples

Oil painting on canvas

51.2 x 59.1 in. (130 x 150 cm.)

Private collection

Fausto Pratella was born in Naples on October 10, 1888. Son of Attilio Pratella.

After he took courses at the Academy in Naples, his father's teachings and advice were of great help to him.

The first painting he exhibited in official exhibitions was "Sunset," which was purchased by the Naples City Hall in 1909.

He then exhibited assiduously at regional and national Neapolitan exhibitions, sometimes at the Venetian Internationals, and at the First Quadrennial in Rome.

One of his "Landscapes" is in the "Paolo and Adele Giannoni" Gallery in Novara, and many others are placed in private collections.

His painting "Lungomare" is in the Ricci Oddi Gallery of Modern Art in Piacenza. More on Fausto Pratella

Henri Logelain, (Belgian, Ixelles 1889-1968 Ixelles)

Antwerp harbour

Oil painting on canvas

27.6 x 33.9 in. (70 x 86 cm.)

Private collection

Henri Logelain studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and in Rome at the Academia Belgica . He exhibited his works from the year 1911. He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Louvain as well as at the School of Decorative Arts in Vilvoorde . Logelain was a member of the free workshop L'Effort where he met Auguste Oleffe , of the Royal Belgian Society of Watercolourists and of the Belgian Society of Painters of the Sea .

Originally a watercolourist , his favorite subjects are landscapes, still lifes, seascapes, urban views and portraits. A neo-impressionist painter , he experienced a Fauve period around 1910. He traveled to the Belgian Congo in 1938 and made many portraits of Congolese there. More on Henri Logelain

Maurice Blieck, (Belgian, Laken 1876-1922 Brussels)

Bridge at the river with steamer

Oil painting on canvas

15.4 x 20.9 in. (39 x 53 cm.)

Private collection

Maurice Emile Blieck 'Maurice Blieck': A Belgian painter and etcher of landscapes, marine views and portraits, Maurice Emile Blieck first studied art at the Academy of Brussels. In 1896 he completed his education in both Paris and London and began formally exhibiting his art in these cities at this time. Establishing his reputation first as a painter, Maurice Blieck began etching around 1905.

 During the early twentieth century Maurice Blieck lived and worked in both Belgium and France. Around 1912 he worked upon a series of etchings detailing the Flemish town of Ypres. Ypres, Rue de Nazareth hails from this set. Several years later this town became a center for some of the heaviest fighting and destruction of the First World War. As most of the city was destroyed by four years of artillery fire this fine etching thus represents both a valuable historical and artistic record. More on Maurice Blieck

Jan Abrahamsz, Beerstraaten (1622–1666) 
The battle of Terheide, 10 august 1653, c. between 1653 and 1666
Oil on canvas
Height: 176 cm (69.3 in). Width: 281.5 cm (110.8 in).
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 31 July 1653 between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces, and had no clear victory. More

Nicholas Pocock

BRISTOL 1740 - 1821 MAIDENHEAD

THE BRITISH FLEET AT SEA - THE NEARER SHIP FLYING THE ROYAL STANDARD

Watercolour over pencil

110 by 163 mm

Pocock was born in Bristol and spent his early life at sea. In circa 1778 he settled in London and devoted himself to painting. He was successful and was patronised by the Navy Board, Admiral Lord Hood, Lord Bridport, Lord Gambier, Lord Barham and many other great navel men. 

Circle of Abraham Storck (Amsterdam 1644-1708)

A parade of Dutch ships in choppy waters

oil on canvas

48.4 x 63.9 cm

Abraham Storck (1644–1708)

The 'Royal Prince' and other Vessels at the Four Days Battle,  in the Second Anglo-Dutch war, 1–4 June 1666, circa 1670

Oil on canvas

78.5 × 110.5 cm (30.9 × 43.5 in)

National Maritime Museum

The Second Anglo-Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667), fought between England and the United Provinces, was part of a series of four Anglo-Dutch Wars fought between the English (later British) and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes, where England tried to end the Dutch domination of world trade. After initial English successes, the war ended in a decisive Dutch victory. English and French resentment would soon lead to renewed warfare. More on The Second Anglo-Dutch War

Abraham Storck (or Sturckenburch) (bapt. 17 April 1644 in Amsterdam – buried 8 April 1708), was a Dutch painter, who enjoyed a reputation for his marine paintings, topographical views and Italianate harbour scenes. Storck was also an outstanding draughtsman

Circa 1666 Storck established his workshop producing naval, harbor scenes as well as landscape paintings and city scapes. In 1670 he traveled with his brother Jacob and worked in Germany. In 1694, at age 49, he married the widow Neeltje Pieters van Meyservelt. At the end of his life he lived on Kattenburg near the harbour.

Storck produced fantastical views of Mediterranean ports, which place merchant shipping amidst architectural ruins, depicted in the crystal-clear colours of Italian art of the period. This type of scene anticipated the popular 18th-century Italian capriccio. He depicted ships' rigging and technical details with considerable accuracy, which likely shows the influence of the van de Veldes. His Dutch harbour and river views often include recreational and ceremonial aspects of shipping. He paid particular attention to the display of pleasure yachts, ceremonial gatherings of ships, the passengers and bystanders.

Storck painted some winter scenes, which are inspired by the example of Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten and his son Anthonie Beerstraaten, a selfportrait, and some allegories. More on Abraham Storck

Abraham Storck (1644–1708)

The frigate Pieter and Paul on the IJ., c. 1698-1700

Oil on canvas

53 × 63 cm (20.9 × 24.8 in)

Amsterdam Museum

In 1703 Russia’s military success against Turkey allowed Peter I to claim a lucrative trade route to Europe – via the Baltic Sea. But to protect the Baltic land he needed a strong Navy. During his Grand Embassy Peter studied the art of shipbuilding. In Amsterdam “Peter and Paul” frigate was built and launched specially for Peter so he could watch the full building cycle. Peter received a certificate that stated that Peter Mikhailov “studied the art of shipbuilding to the extent that we are knowledgeable in it”. More on The frigate Pieter and Paul

James Hamilton MacKenzie ARSA RSW ARE (British, 1875-1926)

Harbour Scene, Possibly Nantes 

Oil on canvas

45 x 60 cm. (17 11/16 x 23 5/8 in.)

Private collection

James Hamilton Mackenzie (1875 - 1926) was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art where he won a scholarship that took him to Florence and Tuscany. He was a long time member of Glasgow Art Club. During the First World War he served in East Africa. His drawings and paintings are featured in The Studio's special war edition of 1918.

He worked abroad during his career notably in Belgium as well as Italy. He was fluent in oil, watercolours, pastels and as an etcher. His Scottish paintings are mostly of landscapes but also include fishing villages.

His career was ended tragically in a fatal accident on a train near Bathgate when he was only 51. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, RSW, in 1910, and an Associate of the RSA in 1923. More on James Hamilton MacKenzie

USS CONSTELLATION

Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973)

22 X 31 in (55.88 X 78.74 cm)

Color Lithograph

Private collection

USS Constellation, constructed in 1854, is a sloop-of-war/corvette and the second United States Navy ship to carry the name. According to the U.S. Naval Registry the original frigate was disassembled on 25 June 1853 in Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, and the sloop-of-war/corvette was constructed in the same yard using material salvaged from the earlier ship. Constellation is the last sail-only warship designed and built by the Navy. Despite being a single-gundeck "sloop," she is actually larger than her frigate namesake, and more powerfully armed with fewer but much more potent shell-firing guns.

The sloop was launched on 26 August 1854 and commissioned on 28 July 1855 with Captain Charles H. Bell in command. More

Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973) was a British painter who was renowned as a maritime artist. His most famous paintings depict sailing ships, usually clippers or warships of the 18th and 19th centuries. Montague was the son of a keen yachtsman and the grandson of the marine painter Henry Dawson (1811–1878), born in Chiswick, London. Much of his childhood was spent on Southampton Water where he was able to indulge his interest in the study of ships. For a brief period around 1910 Dawson worked for a commercial art studio in Bedford Row, London, but with the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Royal Navy. Whilst serving with the Navy in Falmouth he met Charles Napier Hemy (1841–1917), who considerably influenced his work. In 1924 Dawson was the official artist for an Expedition to the South Seas by the steam yacht St.George. During the expedition he provided illustrated reports to the Graphic magazine.

After the War, Dawson established himself as a professional marine artist, concentrating on historical subjects and portraits of deep-water sailing ships. During the Second World War, he was employed as a war artist. Dawson exhibited regularly at the Royal Society of Marine Artists, of which he became a member, from 1946 to 1964, and occasionally at the Royal Academy between 1917 and 1936. By the 1930s he was considered one of the greatest living marine artists, whose patrons included two American Presidents, Dwight D Eisenhower and Lyndon B Johnson, as well as the British Royal Family. Also in the 1930s, he moved to Milford-Upon-Sea in Hampshire, living there for many years. Dawson is noted for the strict accuracy in the nautical detail of his paintings which often sell for six figures.

The work of Montague Dawson is represented in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth. More on Montague Dawson

THE SOUTHERN CROSS

Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973)

23.88 X 36 in (60.64 X 91.44 cm)

Oil on canvas

Private collection

SS Southern Cross (1886) was a steam-powered sealing vessel that operated primarily in Norway and Newfoundland and Labrador.

She was lost at sea returning from the seal hunt on March 31, 1914, killing all 174 men aboard in the same storm that killed 78 crewmen from the SS Newfoundland, a collective tragedy that became known as the "1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster". More on SS Southern Cross

THE GLORIOUS AMERICAN - THE 'CONSTITUTION'

By Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973)

40 X 49.75 in (101.6 X 126.36 cm)

Oil on canvas

Private collection

USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates built in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, at Edmund Hartt's shipyard. Her first duties with the newly formed U.S. Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Constitution is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy. She carried US artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878. More on USS Constitution

THE 'CUTTY SARK'

Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973)

20 X 30 in (50.8 X 76.2 cm)

Oil on canvas

Private collection

Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion.

The opening of the Suez Canal (also in 1869) meant that steam ships now enjoyed a much shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia, where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. Improvements in steam technology meant that gradually steamships also came to dominate the longer sailing route to Australia and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895, and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship until purchased by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman in 1922, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall. After his death, Cutty Sark was transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College, Greenhithe in 1938 where she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside HMS Worcester. By 1954 she had ceased to be useful as a cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London on public display.

Cutty Sark is listed by National Historic Ships as part of the National Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building). She is one of only three remaining original composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) clipper ships from the nineteenth century in part or whole, the others being the City of Adelaide, which arrived in Port Adelaide, South Australia on 3 February 2014 for preservation, and the beached skeleton of Ambassador of 1869 near Punta Arenas, Chile. More on the Cutty Sark

James Kay RSA RSW (British, 1858-1942)

Launch on the Clyde 

Oil on canvas

30 x 45 cm. (11 13/16 x 17 11/16 in.

Private collection

SS River Clyde was a 3,913 GRT British collier built by Russell & Co of Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde and completed in March 1905. In the First World War the Admiralty requisitioned her for the Royal Navy and in 1915 she took part in the Gallipoli landings. After the war she was repaired and sold to Spanish owners, with whom she spent a long civilian career trading in the Mediterranean before being scrapped in 1966. More on SS River Clyde

James Kay (22 October 1858 - 26 September 1942) was a Scottish artist notable for his paintings of the landscapes and shipping around the River Clyde. Born on the Isle of Arran, Kay spent much of his working life with a studio in Glasgow and living at Portincaple on Loch Long in Argyll and Bute. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 1906 and to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1938. He had one daughter, artist Violet McNeish Kay. More on James Kay

ANGELO BROMBO (1893-1962, Venice) 

Venice Canal

Oil on canvas 

15-1/2 in. x 11-1/2 in. (40x30cm)

Private collection

Angelo Brombo (Italian 1893-1962)

Venice

Oil on canvas

11 7/8 x 15 3/4 inches / 30.16 x 40.005 cm; 

Private collection

Artist Angelo Brombo (Chioggia 1893 - Venice 1962) born into his profession as a decorator inherited from his family by his father Eugenio, who kept the shop under the arcades in Vena fondamenta in the district of Santa Maria where he worked until 1940. From 1925 to 1929 he taught design at the School of Applied Art in Chioggia. His debut was at an exhibition in 1922 where he participated in Chioggia. From 1927 onward he took part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Among these at the Opera Bevilacqua La Masa, 1930, 31, 32 and an exhibition at the Napoleon hall of the Palazzo Reale in Venice with over fifty works in 1945. In 1944 he moved with his family to Venice where he continued to paint until his death in 1962. More on Angelo Brombo

EDGAR FORKNER (American 1867-1945)

Ships in Marina

Oil on canvas

22 1/4 x 28 1/8 inches / 61.59 x 71.43 cm

Private collection

EDGAR FORKNER (American 1867-1945). Nationally known water-colorist, Edgar Forkner was born in 1867 in Richmond, Indiana. Equally adept at painting floral still-lives and harbor scenes, Forkner exhibited over twenty years in the Hoosier Salon Exhibition wining numerous awards for best watercolor. He received his training at the Art Student League in New York studying with J. Carroll Beckwith, Irving Wiles, William Merritt Chase and Frank Vincent Dumond.

An early member of the “Richmond Group”, Forkner worked with John Bundy and others to help establish the Art Association of Richmond. After a few years in Richmond, he traveled to Chicago where he taught watercolor in Auditorium Tower studios. Later he lived in Seattle, Washington becoming active in the Seattle art colony painting harbor scenes along the Pacific coast.

His works are in the permanent collection of the Richmond Art Museum, Richmond, Indiana; Seattle Art Museum and the Chicago Art Institute. His Hoosier Salon award winner, Old Vase of Flowers, was exhibited in the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. In appreciate of his artistic contributions, The Seattle Art Museum, held a tribute in memory of Edgar Forkner on July 14, 1945 over the radio. Considered a pioneer painter in two art colonies, Mr. Forkner contributed greatly to the artistic legacy and heritage of American regional art. More on EDGAR FORKNER

GEORGE KENNEDY BRANDRIFF (American 1890-1936)

French Tuna Boats II, c. 1929

Oil on board 

5 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches / 13.65 x 16.19 cm

Private collection

George Kennedy Brandriff (American 1890-1936) 

French Tuna Boats, c. 1929

Oil on board 

5 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches / 13.65 x 16.19 cm

Private collection

 

George Kennedy Brandriff was born on Feb. 13, 1890 in Millville, NJ. After moving to Orange, CA in 1913, Brandriff worked as a piano salesman. Shortly after his arrival he enrolled at the USC College of Dentistry and in 1918 opened a dental office in Hemet, CA. Without the benefit of formal training, he had been painting all his life. He later had a few art lessons from Anna Hills, Carl Oscar Borg, Jack Wilkinson Smith, and in 1928 abandoned dentistry to devote full-time to art. After building a studio-home in Laguna Beach, Brandriff taught painting (Orrin White was one of his pupils) and served as president of the local art association. His subject matter included beach scenes, marines, mountain landscapes, still lifes, and figures. More on George Kennedy Brandriff

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

Acknowledgement:   Michaan,  Acknowledgement: 19th Century European Paintings, Michaan, Old Master & British Paintings,