Thomas Mitchell (; died 1790) was an English
marine painter, who exhibited at the Free Society of Artists in 1763 and 1768 and at the Royal Academy from 1774 to 1789. He was also a naval official, and became eventually assistant-surveyor of the navy.
Life
Thomas Mitchell was a
shipwright
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
by profession who also practised with some success as a painter of marine subjects. He first exhibited at the
Free Society of Artists in 1763, when he was residing on
Tower Hill. He exhibited there again in 1768 and the following years, when he was employed as assistant shipbuilder at
Chatham dockyard. In 1774 he appears as builder's assistant at
Deptford dockyard, and was afterwards employed in the
navy office, becoming eventually assistant
surveyor of the navy. He exhibited 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 ...
from 1774 to 1789. A number of drawings by Mitchell entered the print room at the British Museum, the earliest dated being a view of
Westminster Bridge in 1735. Some of his drawings were engraved.
[Cust 1894, p. 73.]
Gallery
File:Thomas Mitchell (1735-1790) - Forcing a Passage of the Hudson River, 9 October 1776 - BHC0420 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg, ''Forcing a passage of the Hudson River, 9 October 1776''
File:Thomas Mitchell (1735-1790) - The Battle of 'La Hogue', 23 May 1692 - BHC3642 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg, ''The Battle of La Hogue, 23 May 1692'' (1779)
File:HMS Serapis.jpg, '' Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis
Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Serapis'', after the god Serapis of Hellenistic Egypt.
* was a 44-gun two-decker fifth rate launched in 1779 and captured later that year by the American John Paul Jones. She became a Frenc ...
'' (1780)
File:The Battle of the Saints, 12 April 1782 RMG BHC0441.tiff, ''The Battle of the Saints, 12 April 1782'' (1782)
File:Thomas Mitchell - The battle of the Saintes.jpg, ''The Battle of the Saintes, 12th April, 1782''
References
Sources
*
* Graves, Algernon (1884).
A Dictionary of Artists Who Have Exhibited Works in the Principal London Exhibitions of Oil Paintings From 1760 to 1880'. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 162.
* Oliver, Valerie Cassel, ed. (2011)
"Mitchell, Thomas" ''
Benezit Dictionary of Artists''. Oxford Art Online. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
* Redgrave, Samuel (1878)
"Mitchell, Thomas" ''A Dictionary of Artists of the English School''. New ed. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 295.
"Thomas Mitchell" ''The British Museum''. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
Attribution:
*
{{Authority control
18th-century English painters
1790 deaths
English shipwrights