Joseph Walter (1783–1856) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

marine painter in

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, working at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and Portishead. He gained notice for his portrayals of Brunel's steamships ''Great Western'' and ''Great Britain''.

Life

Walter was born in Bristol and died there, but was living in Portishead at the time that he exhibited his first known work, ''View from Portishead towards Wales'' (1832). This was at the

Bristol Institution Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1832, in the first exhibition of the Bristol Society of Artists. He is not known to have been associated with the

Bristol School The Bristol School (or Bristol School of Artists) is a term applied retrospectively to describe the informal association and works of a group of artists working in Bristol, England, in the early 19th century. It was mainly active in the 1820 ...

of artists in the 1820s. However surviving sketches suggest that he did take part in the revival of the school's sketching meetings in the 1830s. His drawing technique shows similarities to that of the leading Bristol School artist Samuel Jackson. Walter's subjects included shipping at Bristol,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and Saint Lucia. He also portrayed Dutch vessels in the style of the Dutch artists Van de Velde and son, for example in ''Dutch vessels in a fresh breeze'' (c. 1851). He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1837, and also at the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

Brunel's steamships

Walter gained notice as a result of his numerous portrayals of Brunel's steamships ''Great Western'' and ''Great Britain''. These included the oil painting ''The Great Western passing Portishead on her maiden voyage to New York, 8 April 1838'' (c. 1839) and the lithograph ''Launch of the Great Britain Steam Ship at Bristol, July 19th 1843''. Later he depicted in watercolour the grounding of the ''Great Britain'' in 1846 which put the Great Western Steamship Company out of business.

References

External links

*
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Joseph 1783 births 1856 deaths Painters from Bristol Bristol Harbourside 19th-century English painters English male painters English watercolourists British marine artists 19th-century English male artists