Nicholas Pocock (2 March 1740 – 9 March 1821) was an English artist known for his many detailed paintings of naval battles during the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

Birth and early career at sea

Pocock was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in 1740, the son of a seaman.Chatteron 1967, p. 106 He followed his father's profession and was master of a merchant ship by the age of 26. During his time at sea, he became a skilled artist by making ink-and-wash sketches of ships and coastal scenes for his logbooks.

Painting career

In 1778, Pocock's employer, Richard Champion, became financially insolvent due to the effects of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

on transatlantic trade. As a result, Pocock gave up the sea and devoted himself to painting. The first of his works were exhibited by 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 ...

in 1782. Later that year, Pocock was commissioned to produce a series of paintings illustrating

George Rodney Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, Order of the Bath, KB (baptism, bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands ...

's victory at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

. In 1789, he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where his reputation and contacts continued to grow. He was a favourite of Samuel Hood and was appointed Marine Painter to King George. Pocock's naval paintings incorporated extensive research, including interviewing eyewitnesses about weather and wind conditions as well as the positions, condition, and appearance of their ships, and drawing detailed plans of the battle and preliminary sketches of individual ships. He was also present himself at the Glorious First of June in 1794, on board the frigate HMS ''Pegasus''. In addition to his large-scale

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s depicting naval battles, Pocock also produced many

watercolour 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 of coastal and ship scenes.

Family

Pocock married Ann Evans of Bristol in 1780; together they had eight children. His son

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

was an artist and dramatist, his second son William Innes Pocock was a Royal Navy Officer and marine artist. Two of his grandsons, Alfred Downing Fripp and George Arthur Fripp, were also artists.

Death

He died on 9 March 1821 at the home of his oldest son, Isaac, in Raymead in the parish of

Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...

, near

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, and is buried in the parish church there.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

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Pocock biographyAnother Pocock biography Pocock paintings at the National Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Nicholas 1740 births 1821 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters Artists from Bristol People from Maidenhead 18th-century war artists English marine artists 19th-century British war artists English war artists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists