Archives: Artists

Gustave de Breanski's name, like that of his older brother Alfred, is synonymous with attractive landscapes and coastal scenes. The de Breanskis were prolific painters who described themselves as landscape artists, but in Gustave's case the majority of his work is made up of seascapes and inshore scenes. All seven of his Royal Academy exhibits…

A self-taught artist of the Liverpool School, John Hughes was born in that seafaring town in 1806. He was a very competent marine painter, the majority of whose works were done for export to America. It is interesting to note that of all the known works by John Hughes only a very few survive in…

The London-born son of engraver George Cooke, Edward's first artistic endeavor was the sketch book, "Shipping and Craft" in which he presented 50-plate engravings from his drawings of sea-going vessels. Six years later he would begin a long association with the British Royal Academy, where he would exhibit 129 paintings over his career. Scholarly pursuits…

Although not a Liverpool artist, Wilson is included among their ranks because many of his paintings suggest a Liverpool influence. He was essentially a painter of the Hull Marine School being based there for most of his career. Five of his paintings survive at the Town Docks Museum in Hull. Wilson specialized in ship’s portraiture,…

Witham was born in Bognor Regis, England, the son of a cabinet maker. He initially earned his living as a mariner and his early love of the sea remained with the artist throughout his life. In 1874, he moved ashore and brought his family to the important shipping port of Liverpool where he established himself…

Huggins joined the East India Company while still a young man and made several voyages to the Far East. He first learned to paint while in China. In 1814, the artist returned to London and established a studio near the East India Company offices. Beginning with paintings of East India Company vessels, he soon was…

Biographical information on this skilled British marine artist to date remains elusive. Prolific in his output of quality sea pictures. Paintings by David James have been favorably compared to the best works of Henry Moore and John Brett. Today their value is considered beyond those of both these popular British sea painters. Born in Cornwall…

A local born artist of Kingston-on-Hull, he established himself in the footsteps of John Ward, and quickly rose to prominence among the painters of the third largest port of Britain and the reputed "biggest fishing port in the world". He worked almost exclusively with an agent, James Eyre Jackson, and exhibited in London in 1871.…

Frederick Tudgay, youngest member of and considered the most talented of the prestigious Tudgay family of marine artists, produced throughout his career an impressive body of ship portraiture. Working occasionally in collaboration with his father, John, it was Frederick’s talent for portraying detail and his draftsmanlike technique that drew the attention of the maritime community.…

British artist Arthur Trevor Haddon was both an oil painter and watercolorist who specialized in landscapes, seascapes and the country genre. He was also a skilled portraitist and painter of figures. In 1883, at the age of 19, he won a 3 year art scholarship to the Slade schools in England and later studied painting…

Montague Dawson Is widely considered the best known sea painter of the 20th Century, and one of the most skilled craftsman in the direct line of English marine artists. He is noted for his unerringly beautiful ships, the weight and surging power of his waves and the scudding grace of his skies. In a painting…

The son and nephew of prolific landscape and seascape painters Alfred (fl.1869-1893) and Gustave (fl.1877-1892), Alfred de Breanski, Jr. achieved substantial acclaim in his own right during a notable career that spanned over 60 years. Taught by both men, his techniques and trained eye for overall composition emulates, and in some cases, surpasses his family…