Martin Snape (31 December 1852 – 24 November 1930) was an English painter of the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

and

Edwardian era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

Biography

Born in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

in 1852, Snape worked in a variety of media (

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturat ...

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

, etc.). He concentrated mainly on

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...

subjects including landscapes from the Meon Valley, and shore and maritime scenes around

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

and his home town of Gosport. He exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

between 1874 and 1901. Living in Spring Garden Lane, near Gosport railway station, Snape was associated with the Gosport area all his life. In 1922 he was commissioned to design the seal for the newly created Borough of Gosport (though the council logo is now a stylised modern version, the original design is still used by the Gosport Borough Football Club). In 1923 he was chosen to give the speech of welcome to the 91st Annual conference of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

which was being held in Portsmouth. He died in 1930 but his most famous painting, '' Forton Creek'', one of a series, still hangs in

Gosport Town Hall Gosport Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Gosport, Hampshire, England. The structure currently serves as the headquarters of Gosport Borough Council. History The first municipal building in Gosport was an ancient market ha ...

. Snape is buried in the churchyard at St Mary's, the parish church of Rowner. He had a great fondness for the village of Rowner, which was the subject of many of his paintings and was a personal friend of a former rector, the Revd Edward Prideaux-Brune. The new premises of the charity Gosport Voluntary Action has been named Martin Snape House in his memory.

References

Martin Snape 1853-1930
(Gosport Discovery Centre).
Martin Snape – biography
(Richard Martin Gallery, Gosport). *''BMA Archives'', 1923 *Bull, M. ''Town Hall Art Riddle'' (Gosport,Solent Reporter, 31 January 1986) p1. *Fisher, S.W. ''A Dictionary of Water Colour Painters'' (Foulsham, Slough, 1972). *Gates, W. G. & Snape, M. (ill.).''Portsmouth in the Past'' (EP, 1925). *Locke, S. ''Snape Exhibition Information'' (Havant, Havant Museum, 1985). *Snape, M. ''Scenes of Old Portsmouth'' (Charpentier, Gosport, 1924). *''An art show takes sisters back to their childhood'', uncredited, The News, Portsmouth, 19 September 1969, p7

External links

searchable database of works, Hampshire County Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Snape, Martin 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English watercolourists English landscape artists English illustrators People from Gosport 1852 births 1930 deaths People educated at Burney's Academy 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists 20th-century English engravers