Richmond

Oil on canvas, 12 1/2 x 15 5/8 inches, c. 1830, signed "Chambers- Whitby" on the back of the sinking ship. A dramatic scene of a shipwreck in the stormy seas. Chambers was a painter from Whitby, Yorkshire, who specialized in seascapes. He was the son of a fisherman, and as a young boy served as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. He later spent some time in London as a set painter for the Pavillion Theater. Chambers was best known for his paintings of ships and naval battles, many of which are in museums and galleries in Britain. He was not a healthy man, and died at the age of 37.