01 Classic Works of Art, Marine Paintings - With Footnotes, #65

Edward (Edwin) Henry Eugene Fletcher. (1857-1945)

Dock scene at Rochester, Kent, early 20th century 

Oil painting on canvas

24" high, 36"

Private collection

Dock scene at Rochester, Kent with ships and a castle in the background.

Rochester is a town and historic city in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London.

Rochester Castle, built by Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best preserved keeps in either England or France, and during the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it. More on Rochester, Kent

Edward Henry Fletcher was born in Hammersmith on the 23rd July 1857. He was the son of a Bengal river pilot, and having spent his early years in India, the family returned to England while he was still a boy. He was educated at the Christ's Hospital and later at the Chelsea School of Art.

After his marriage, Fletcher lived in Blackheath and owned a small Auction House. At about forty, he suffered a serious illness and gave up the business to become a professional painter, having previously painted as a hobby. He also painted under the pseudonym John Hayes, and is often called Edwin Fletcher. Later in life he moved away from London to live in Thames Ditton, Winchelsea near Rye and Tilehurst in Sussex, where he died in 1945.

Fletcher worked largely in the City, painting scenes of the Thames and recording the busy shipping lanes of this important industrial waterway. During hard times his work was handled by an Islington dealer who sold many of his paintings to American dealers, with whom it proved very popular. He also painted South coast scenes, some including H.M.S. Victory. The occasional portrait came from his hand, including one of the mayor of Margate, which still hangs in the Town Hall, and for which he was reputedly never paid the 80 guinea fee.

Fletcher never exhibited. More on Edward Henry Fletcher

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