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Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of
Pocock's naval paintings incorporated extensive research, including interviewing eyewitnesses about weather and wind conditions as well as the positions, condition, and appearance of their ships; and drawing detailed plans of the battle and preliminary sketches of individual ships. He was also present himself at the
He died on 9 March 1821 at the home of his oldest son, Isaac, in Raymead in the parish of
Pocock biographyAnother Pocock biography Pocock paintings at the National Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Nicholas 1740 births 1821 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters Artists from Bristol People from Maidenhead 18th-century war artists British marine artists 19th-century war artists British war artists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists
Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battle
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large lan ...
s during the age of sail
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval ...
.
Birth and early career at sea
Pocock was born inBristol
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 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatteron 1967, p. 106 He followed his father's profession and was master of a merchant ship by the age of 26. During his time at sea, he became a skilled artist by making ink and wash sketches of ships and coastal scenes for his log books.
Painting career
In 1778, Pocock's employer,Richard Champion
Richard Champion (born 14 April 1968 on Yorke Peninsula in Kadina, South Australia) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL) and South Australian National Football Leagues (SANFL).
Originally from SANFL ...
, became financially insolvent due to the effects of the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
on transatlantic trade. As a result, Pocock gave up the sea and devoted himself to painting. The first of his works were exhibited by the 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 ...
in 1782.
Later that year, Pocock was commissioned to produce a series of paintings illustrating George Rodney
Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...
's victory at the Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...
. In 1789, he moved to 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 ...
, where his reputation and contacts continued to grow. He was a favourite of Samuel Hood and was appointed Marine Painter to King George.
Pocock's naval paintings incorporated extensive research, including interviewing eyewitnesses about weather and wind conditions as well as the positions, condition, and appearance of their ships; and drawing detailed plans of the battle and preliminary sketches of individual ships. He was also present himself at the Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
in 1794, on board the frigate HMS ''Pegasus''.
In addition to his large-scale oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
s depicting naval battles, Pocock also produced many 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 ...
s of coastal and ship scenes.
Family
Pocock married Ann Evans of Bristol in 1780; together they had eight children. His sonIsaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
was an artist and dramatist, his second son William Innes Pocock was a Royal Navy Officer and marine artist. Two of his grandsons, Alfred Downing Fripp and George Arthur Fripp
George Arthur Fripp (13 June 1813 – 17 October 1896) was a British watercolourist. He was a grandson of the artist Nicholas Pocock and brother of the painter Alfred Downing Fripp. His nephew was the artist Henry Charles Innes Fripp.
Li ...
, were also artists.
Death
He died on 9 March 1821 at the home of his oldest son, Isaac, in Raymead in the parish of Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
, near Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
, and is buried in the parish church there.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*Further reading
*External links
*Pocock biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Nicholas 1740 births 1821 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters Artists from Bristol People from Maidenhead 18th-century war artists British marine artists 19th-century war artists British war artists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists