A brig is shown with fore-topgallant mast struck. It is running into the Bristol Avon and the end of the channel is marked with a beacon on the rocks on the left. What may be a pilot cutter is on the left, with land visible in the distance beyond. A full-rigged ship and distant land on the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel are visible on the right. This lively painting may have been commissioned from the artist by the brig's captain.
Walter was born in Bristol and was a pupil of Thomas Lang. He lived and worked in the commercial port there and his familiarity with marine subjects suggests that he may for a time have gone to sea. He was considered the leading ship-portrait painter in Bristol during the 19th century and this painting shows his close attention to details of the ship's appearance and rig. The painting is signed and dated, bottom left, 'J Walter 1838'.
The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose.
The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright.
Identifier
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Acquisition Number: 1947-290 id number: BHC1195
Collection
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Oil paintings
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This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
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The author died in 1856, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.
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The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain". This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.
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