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Sir Oswald Walters Brierly (19 May 1817 – 14 December 1894), was an English
marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
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 ...
from an old
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
family and he was born at
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
.


Life

He was the son of Thomas Brierly, a doctor and amateur artist, who belonged to an old
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
family, was born at
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
on 19 May 1817. After a general grounding in art at the academy of Henry Sass in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, he went to
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
to study naval architecture and
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
. He exhibited drawings of two men-of-war at Plymouth, and , at 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 1839. He then spent some time in the study of navigation, and in 1841 started on a voyage to Australia with his friend Benjamin Boyd in the latter's yacht ''Wanderer''. Boyd established himself in New South Wales as a merchant banker, pastoralist, shipowner, whaler and member of parliament. Brierly lived in southern New South Wales in a new settlement named
Boydtown Boydtown is a village on Twofold Bay near Eden, on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It was the original settlement in the bay, founded by Benjamin Boyd in 1843 to service his properties on the Monaro plains. The remains of w ...
where he managed Boyd's whaling operations until 1848. Boyd even went so far as to have a house named "Merton Cottage" built for him. Brierly Point, on the coast of New South Wales commemorates his connection with that colony. His familiarity with the whaling industry led to a number of paintings of whaling subjects. In 1848, Captain Owen Stanley, elder brother of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, then in command of , invited Brierly to be his guest during an Admiralty survey of the north and east coast of Australia and the adjacent islands, in which Thomas Henry Huxley took part as biological observer. Brierly accompanied the survey during two cruises and took not only sketches, but notes of considerable value, which, however, remained unpublished. His name was given to an island in the Louisiade archipelago. In March 1850, the Hon. Henry Keppel asked Brierly to join him on . He then visited New Zealand, the
Friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...
and Society Islands, and crossed the Pacific to Valparaiso. The cruise extended to the coasts of Chile, Peru, and Mexico, and the ship returned by the Straits of Magellan and Rio de Janeiro, and reached England at the end of July 1851. Keppel's account of the voyage, published in 1853, was illustrated by eight
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
s by Brierly, who was made a fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
on his return. After the
declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
with the Russian Empire in February 1854, Brierly was again Keppel's guest, on , and the painter was present at all the operations of the allied fleets in the Baltic Sea, and sent home sketches for publication in the ''Illustrated London News.'' On the return of the fleet, Brierly had a series of fifteen large lithographs executed from his drawings, which were published on 2 April 1855, with the title ''The English and French Fleets in the Baltic, 1854.'' In the second year of the war, he accompanied Keppel to the Black Sea; witnessed all the chief events of the war in the Black Sea and
Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
, and visited Circassia and
Mingrelia Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelian ...
with the Duke of Newcastle on . After his return, he was commanded by Queen Victoria to take sketches from the
royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
of the great naval review which was held at Spithead at the end of the war. This was the commencement of a third period in the artist's career, during which he received the constant patronage of the royal family. In 1863, he accompanied Count Gleichen in , on which the future
Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...
was lieutenant, to Norway, and when the duke was appointed to the command of , Brierly was attached to his suite and accompanied him on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea and afterwards round the world, which lasted from 26 February 1867 to 26 June 1868. The sketches made by Brierly during the voyage were exhibited at South Kensington in 1868, and he contributed the illustrations to the record of the voyage by the Rev. John Milner, published in 1869. In 1868, Brierly was attached to the suite of the Prince of Wales during the tour to the Nile, Constantinople, and the Crimea. He contributed five drawings to the Royal Academy exhibitions of 1859–61; he exhibited again in 1870–71, but ceased to exhibit at the Academy on becoming an associate of the Royal Water-colour Society in 1872. During the remainder of his life he contributed about two hundred water-colours to the society's exhibitions. These were, in part, founded on his early working life and travel experiences. His visits to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
in 1874 and 1882 also supplied him materials for many of his most elaborate pictures; but the most characteristic subjects of his later period were historical. The first of these was 'The Retreat of the Spanish Armada' (Royal Academy, 1871). This was followed by 'Drake taking the Capitana to Torbay' (Royal Water-colour Society, 1872), and many other subjects from the history of the
Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
and other stirring incidents of the
Elizabethan age The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
. One of the most successful of these was 'The Loss of the Revenge' (1877), which was engraved for the Art Union of London. 'The Sailing of the Armada' (1879) and 'The Decisive Battle off Gravelines' (1881) were etched by Mr. David Law in 1882. Brierly was appointed marine painter to Queen Victoria, on the death of
John Christian Schetky John Christian Schetky (11 August 1778 – 29 January 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish Marine art, marine painter. Early life Schetky was descended from an old Hungarian people, Hungarian-Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvan ...
in 1874. He became marine painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron at the same time. In 1880, he was elected a full member of the Royal Water-colour Society. In 1881, he was appointed curator of the Painted Hall at Greenwich, and he received the honour of knighthood in 1885. He died in London on 14 December 1894.


Family

In 1851, Brierly married, first, Sarah, daughter of Edmund Fry, a member of the
Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. She died in 1870. In 1872 he married Louise Marie, eldest daughter of the painter, Louis Huard of London and Brussels. His second wife survived him.


See also

* European and American voyages of scientific exploration * Benjamin Boyd


Footnotes


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brierly 1817 births 1894 deaths People from Chester 19th-century English painters English male painters British marine artists Australian people in whaling 19th-century English male artists