John Ward (1798–1849)Harbron, Dudley
''John Ward, Painter (1798–1849)''
''Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', October 1941, p. 130. was an English painter from

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, Yorkshire. He has been described as "the leading marine artist and ship portrait painter in Hull during the first half of the 19th century"."Oil painting may have been stolen from museum to order"
''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 8 July 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2013.

Biography

John Ward was born on 28 December 1798, a son of a master mariner, Abraham Ward, also a painter and his wife Sarah (née Clark). John received an education and was apprenticed as a house painter to Thomas Meggitt. By 1826, Ward was listed in the local Hull Directory as a "House and Ship Painter". Ward married Esther Leonard (daughter of John Leonard of Hull) on 18 April 1825 in

Holy Trinity Church, Hull Hull Minster is the Anglican minster and the parish church of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church was called Holy Trinity Church until 13 May 2017 when it became Hull Minster. History The transepts date ...

. They had four daughters. He was initiated as a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He was influenced by the artist

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986 ...

. copying some of them before establishing his own style. Ward exhibited several paintings in 1827 at the Hull and East Riding Institute for the Promotion of the Fine Arts. He subsequently produced small

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

paintings and some larger

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s, of local maritime and shipping scenes. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1840 and 1847 and at the British Institution between 1843 and 1847. He made many engravings of his own works. Ward died on 28 September 1849 from cholera. It was not until 1883 that his importance was recognized when the local press briefly described his life. Many of his works are now in public collections, including the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull Maritime Museum and

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, Washington, D.C.. In 1981 an exhibition of his works was held at the Ferens Art Gallery to coincide with the opening of the Humber Bridge.

Gallery

File:John Ward of Hull - Stoneferry.jpg, " Stoneferry", oil on panel File:John Ward of Hull - H.M.S. Britannia at Anchor with the Fleet.jpg, " H.M.S. ''Britannia'' at Anchor with the Fleet", oil on canvas File:Ward-of-hull fishery.jpg, "'The Northern Whale Fishery - The ''Swan'' and ''Isabella''", oil on canvas, c. 1840 File:John Ward of Hull - A trading cutter shortening sail as members of her crew carry a mooring rope to a wooden dolphin nearby.jpg, "A trading cutter shortening sail as members of her crew carry a mooring rope to a wooden dolphin nearby", pen, Indian ink and watercolour

2009 art theft

In June 2009, one of Ward's paintings, "Schooners Ellen Crawford and Dwina" (1843), was stolen from Hull Maritime Museum. The painting, worth £10,000, was recovered three months later after being found hanging on the thief's

dining room A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually next to the kitchen for convenience in serving, though in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically the dining room is furnished with ...

wall; he had stolen the painting as a present for his artist wife."£10,000 painting found on thief's wall"
, ''Hull Daily Mail'', 13 February 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2013. At his trial, the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

judge described the painting as "part of the heritage of the city of Hull, building on its reputation and art links with the maritime world".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, John 19th-century English painters English male painters Artists from Kingston upon Hull 1798 births 1849 deaths 19th-century English male artists English marine artists