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T G Purvis (12 April 1861 – 17 January 1933) was a British 
As a ship's captain, T G could only find employment delivering
new small steamships to South America,Mariners List ship index, http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/IBON-INDEX.html and he gave this up in July
1891 to become a full-time painter; he had already described himself
as "marine artist" in the census earlier that year.
From this time until the beginning of the First World War he was a prolific painter, mainly of ship portraits, though probably his best paintings are those where he was not constrained by the conventions of ship portraiture.The Fine Art Emporium, http://www.fineartemporium.com/se-Purvis-TG.htm
By 1888, when his oldest son Tom Purvis was born, he was living in
The BBC's "Your Paintings
''and on various art selling sites, including:''
The Fine Art Emporiu
br /> Bonham
br /> Christie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purvis, T G English marine artists 1861 births 1933 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters People from North Shields 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists
T G Purvis (12 April 1861 – 17 January 1933) was a British marine artist
Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...
.
A sea captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...
who turned to painting, he was a prolific painter of ship portraits and marine scenes from the early 1890s to the late 1920s.
His paintings can be found in a number of public
collections, notably the National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...
and the
National Museum of Wales
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
.BBC "Your Paintings", https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/thomas-g-purvis-2360/paintings/slideshow#/8
Life
Thomas George Purvis (professionally known as T G Purvis) was born inChirton, Northumberland
North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021 census was 6,137.
Since ...
,
on 12 April 1861.GRO birth, marriage or death certificate
He was the only child of the then 46-year-oldParish register
Jane Scott, daughter of a master mariner, and her husband,
Thomas Joseph Purvis (1821–86), a blockmaker born in Alnwick
Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
.
Purvis went to sea as an apprentice in December 1878, working his way up
to obtain his Master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
's certificate in August 1887.National Maritime Museum records
He sailed on a variety of steam and sailing vessels; the latter
including two and a half years on the bark
Bark may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick
* Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog)
Arts and entertainment
* ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...
''Arabella'' and a voyage to
Australia in the Dundee-built clipper
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century.
Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...
, ''La Escocesa''.
In 1886, he married Grace Elizabeth Dodgin (1861-1948), eldest daughter
of shipbuilder and marine engineer Charles William Dodgin (1839-1917).
As a ship's captain, T G could only find employment delivering
new small steamships to South America,Mariners List ship index, http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/IBON-INDEX.html and he gave this up in July
1891 to become a full-time painter; he had already described himself
as "marine artist" in the census earlier that year.
From this time until the beginning of the First World War he was a prolific painter, mainly of ship portraits, though probably his best paintings are those where he was not constrained by the conventions of ship portraiture.The Fine Art Emporium, http://www.fineartemporium.com/se-Purvis-TG.htm
By 1888, when his oldest son Tom Purvis was born, he was living 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 ...
. He moved in early 1894 to Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, where he for a time also ran a
photographic studio, and was still there in 1902.Glamorgan photographers, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Photographers.html
Soon after, he moved to Blackheath, London
Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, G ...
. He was in Blackheath when his son Tom started at Camberwell School of Art in ca. 1904.
By the outbreak of the First World War, the great sailing ships Purvis
loved to paint were in decline.
In 1915 he moved to the Far East, leaving his family behind, and
took employment as mate or master of various steamships, at least
until 1925.
Meanwhile, he continued to paint. Purvis died in Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
on 17 January 1933, after an accident.
Family
His five children all showed artistic talent in varying degrees,In the 1911 census, 4 of the 5 siblings are described as artist or art student especially his oldest son, Tom Purvis (1888-1959), who became one of the most distinguished and distinctive of 20th century poster artists.References
External links
''Selections of his paintings can be found on:''The BBC's "Your Paintings
''and on various art selling sites, including:''
The Fine Art Emporiu
br /> Bonham
br /> Christie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purvis, T G English marine artists 1861 births 1933 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters People from North Shields 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists