Montague Dawson: Maritime artist - Biography

Montague Dawson (1895 – 1973), has been described as the “King of the Clipper Ship School,” and was one of the greatest and admired maritime artists of the 20th century. He was comfortable with the water and used it as his main theme. Deftly portraying the interplay between sky, sea, and vessel in his portraits of tempest-tossed ships on the high seas or clippers under full sail, Dawson also illustrated maritime battles for “the Sphere” during World Wars I and II. Dawson was born in Chiswick, England, the son of an enthusiastic Thames yachtsman and grandson of noted English landscape painter Henry Dawson. Early in his life the Dawson family moved to Southampton where he spent his time fishing, sailing and watching the great ships of the world anchoring in the harbour. As a young naval officer during WWI, he met and was greatly influenced by English artist C. Napier Hemy and would spend the remainder of his life as a professional painter and illustrator. Today works by Montague Dawson grace the private collections of royalty and presidents as well as important museums worldwide.

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