James Wilson Carmichael (1800-1868) - Framed 19th Century Oil The Docks

Description

A fine 19th-century oil by the eminent nautical painter James Wilson Carmichael (1800-1868). In this particular composition Carmichael has depicted a small dockyard with various ships and sailors milling about. The scene illustrates not only Carmichael's love of the sea and intimate knowledge of ships, but his ability to produce a painting of balance and interest. Growing up in Newcastle, he spent his youth watching the loading and unloading of the coal barges, and this time spent in the Docks proved an everlasting source of inspiration for Carmichael. Within this composition Carmichael has captured shipbuilders working to repair a ship in the murky dock waters. Carmichael was himself an apprentice to a shipbuilding firm after he returned from his travels to Spain and Portugal. His extensive understanding of ships allowed Carmichael to produce work that accurately captured the lives of the local workers and the surrounding harbours and docks of North East England. The work is presented in a gilt slip. Signed lower left. On panel.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some minor surface discolouration. With minor cracks and marks to the substrate, most noticeable along the middle section of the composition. Along the main crack there is some very minor flaking of paint at the left of centre. Inspection under UV light reveals no sign of restoration. With small marks and chips to the slip, some of which have been overpainted with gilt paint.

Size

23.5 x 33cm (9.3" x 13.0")
Framed Size: 31 x 41cm (12.2" x 16.1")

Artist Biography

John Wilson Carmichael was born in Newcastle in 1800, the eldest son of William Carmichael, who worked as a shipwright. He went to sea at an early age, and spent three years on board a vessel sailing between ports in Spain and Portugal. On his return, he was apprenticed to a shipbuilding firm. After completing his apprenticeship, he devoted all his spare time to art, and eventually gave up the carpentry business, setting himself up as a drawing-master and miniature painter. Carmichael's first historical painting to attract public notice was the Fight Between the Shannon and Chesapeake. He then painted The Bombardment of Algiers for Trinity House, Newcastle. His name first appears as an exhibitor in 1838, when he contributed an oil painting, Shipping in the Bay of Naples, to the Society of British Artists. He showed both oil paintings and watercolours at the Royal Academy, his contributions including The Conqueror towing the Africa off the Shoals of Trafalgar (1841) and The Arrival of the Royal Squadron (1843). He lived in Newcastle until about 1845, when he moved to London, where he was already known as a skilful marine painter. In 1855, during the Crimean War he was sent to the Baltic to make drawings for The Illustrated London News. His painting of the bombardment of Sveaborg, which he witnessed during this assignment, was exhibited at the Royal Academy and is now in the collection of the National Maritime Museum.