Norman Wilkinson

Active 1878 - 1971

An etching of an 18th Century War Ship-of-the-Line shown from the stern. It is possible that the ship could be the ROYAL CHARLES of 1665. The ship carries what appears to be the Scottish Royal Coat of Arms. A banner of the three lions of England flies above it. The ship is square rigged. In the foreground is a wherry and in the background is another boat approaching the ship.

Artist in oil, watercolour and drypoint, usually of marine subjects. Illustrator and poster artist, he also made an important contribution in both World Wars in the field of camouflage.

Born in Cambridge in 1878 he was educated at Berkhamsted School of Art. In 1898 he started contributing to The Illustrated News and The Illustrated Mail which was the start of a long association. In Paris in 1899 he studied figure painting but was already set upon working on marines. With his love of the sea he travelled extensively including visits to Spain , Germany , Italy , Malta , Greece , Aden , Bahamas , United States , Canada , and Brazil . He was elected R.I. in 1906, Hon. Marine Painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1919, P.R.I. in 1937 and awarded the C.B.E. in 1948. Wilkinson had a painting of Plymouth in the smoking room of the S.S. Titanic. One of the finest marine painters of this century, he is well represented in many public collections, including the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich .

A Member of: Royal Society of British Artists, President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Marine Artists, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water-colours. Exhibition spaces of note: Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Fine Art Society, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Walker Art Gallery , Liverpool , Abbey Gallery, Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham , Beaux Arts Gallery.