Montague Dawson RSMA,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(1890–1973) was a British

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

who was renowned as a

maritime art Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre part ...

ist. His most famous paintings depict

sailing ships A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

, usually

clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and ...

of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Life

Montague Dawson was the son of a keen yachtsman and the grandson of the marine painter Henry Dawson (1811-1878), born in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Whilst serving with the Navy in Falmouth he met

Charles Napier Hemy Charles Napier Hemy (Newcastle-on-Tyne, 24 May 1841 – 30 September 1917, Falmouth) was a British genre and marine painter. He was born to a musical family in Newcastle-on-Tyne, and trained in the Government School of Design, Newcastle, follo ...

(1841–1917), who considerably influenced his work. Towards the end of the War Dawson was serving as a Lieutenant RNVR in the Dazzle Painting Section at Leith.Signed copy of his "General Directions for Dazzle Painting" handbook cross checked with the Navy List Jan 1918. 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. During these years his artwork was also published in the newspaper ''

The Sphere ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. His works are featured in the

Royal Naval Museum The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The ...

and the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

. Dawson was present at the final surrender of the German High Seas Fleet and many of his illustrations depicting the event were published in

. After the War, Dawson established himself as a professional marine artist, concentrating on historical subjects and portraits of deep-water sailing ships often in stiff breeze or on high seas. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was employed as a war artist and again worked for ''The Sphere''. Dawson exhibited regularly at the

Royal Society of Marine Artists The Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) is an association of artists in London, England, that promotes contemporary marine art. This includes painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture.Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

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 Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and

Lyndon B Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

, 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.

Collections

Montague Dawson's work can be found in a number of public collections including: *

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a non-profit art museum and school in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. History In 1924, members of the Kalamazoo Chapter of the American Federation of Arts established an art center "to further ...

, Kalamazoo, MI *

* The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia * The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Kent, England (HMS Jervis Bay -'The Convoy Got Through') * Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida (The Cutty Sark) *

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that e ...

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, NC

References

External links

The Convoy Got Through, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham

Montague Dawson's artworks at AllPainter.com

Montague Dawson's artwork at The Mariners' Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Montague 1890 births 1973 deaths British marine artists 20th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English male artists