George Webster (painter)

George Webster was a 19th-century British Marine Art painter. He toured extensively and painted seascapes of the places he visited. His work was exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Academy.

The Battle of Lissa (1811)
A ship battle involving HMS Bonne Citoyenne

Career
Two British slave-ships off Fort Christiansborg taking on board enslaved people[1]

Webster was active between the years of 1797 and 1832.[2]

Style

Webster was a 19th-century artist who painted in the British Marine art style.[3][4] He painted seascapes and ship portraits with versatility allowing him to capture both rivers, such as the Thames, and calm or stormy open waters. His work was influenced by the Dutch style and stood in some cases as a historical record as well as attractive sea art.[5]

Touring
A French Lugger

In 1797, he started showing his paintings at galleries in London. His work was on show at the Royal Society of British Artists, the British Institution and the Royal Academy.[2]

Webster toured extensively and painted the seascapes upon which he travelled. Between 1803 and 1806 he toured Africa. He visited the West Coast of Africa and painted a seascape showing two British slave-ships taking on board enslaved people at Fort Christiansborg.[1] The fort was used to hold enslaved people before they were embarked onto slave ships to be used as forced labour in the Americas. The painting is held by the Danish Maritime Museum.[6] Webster drew a depiction of the English Fort at Dixcove in Ghana.[7] The fort was used to hold enslaved people who were then departed to plantations in the Americas. It was rebuilt and is part of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites that pay tribute to the victims of slavery.[8] It is not known whether Webster travelled to Africa in any official capacity.[3]

Publisher

Webster also published engravings. These included one of Captain James Lawrence of the United States frigate Chesapeake who died while engaged with the British ship Shannon on the first of June 1813. Webster remarked, "This Print is respectfully dedicated to the British Nation whose philanthropy is such as to esteem the Brave and Virtuous even in an Enemy."[9]

Selected works

The Battle of Lissa

Webster painted at least two pictures of the Battle of Lissa (1811). Engravings of the pictures are held by the UK government at its British Embassy in Zagreb.[10]

A Two Decker leaving Portsmouth
A Two Decker leaving Portsmouth

The painting is oil on canvas and framed, it is owned by the Royal Museum Greenwich.[11]

A French Lugger

A French Lugger and a Ship in The Downs is owned by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.[12]

HMS Bonne Citoyenne and Furieuse

A painting that depicts a ship battle taking place on 6 July 1809. Bonne Citoyenne is firing her cannons at Furieuse, whose mast is broken.[13]

Old Portsmouth Harbour
Old Portsmouth Harbour

This painting depicts the harbour at Portsmouth in England. It is held by The National Trust at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire.[14]

A Frigate and other Vessels

This painting is held by The National Trust at Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire. The painting is oil on canvas and was bought from the estate of Frederick Horton who formerly lived at Shrawley Wood House in London.[15]

References
  1. "Utrolig historie: Orkaner, sørøvere og mytteri med 700 slaver om bord". ugeavisen.dk (in Danish). 18 March 2019.
  2. Tracy 2007, p. 250.
  3. Tracy 2007, p. 249.
  4. Brook-Hart 1978, p. 20.
  5. Brook-Hart 1978, p. 20,32.
  6. "New book on Danish-Norwegian 18th–19th century slave trade". The Norwegian American. 16 February 2021.
  7. "drawing | British Museum". The British Museum.
  8. Journals, IU Press (20 February 2015). Transition 114: Transition: the Magazine of Africa and the Diaspora. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253018588 – via Google Books.
  9. "print | British Museum". The British Museum.
  10. "AUTH10900 Archives". Government Art Collection.
  11. "A two-decker leaving Portsmouth – National Maritime Museum". collections.rmg.co.uk.
  12. "A French lugger and a ship in The Downs – National Maritime Museum". collections.rmg.co.uk.
  13. "print | British Museum". The British Museum.
  14. National Trust. "Old Portsmouth Harbour 515889". www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk.
  15. National Trust. "A Frigate and other Vessels in a Squall 414265". www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk.

Sources
  • Brook-Hart, Denys (1978). British 19th century marine painting. UK: Antique Collectors Club.
  • Tracy, Nicholas (2007). Britannia's Palette. UK: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
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