John Allcot, (1888 - 1973)
Cutty Sark
Oil on board
29.5 x 34.5cm
Private collection
Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship.
Built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of
the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of
a long period of design development which halted as sailing ships gave way to
steam propulsion.
The opening of the Suez Canal (also in 1869) meant that steam
ships now enjoyed a much shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few
years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia,
where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. Improvements in steam
technology meant that gradually steamships also came to dominate the longer
sailing route to Australia and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company
Ferreira and Co. in 1895, and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship
until purchased by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman in 1922, who used her as
a training ship. After his death, Cutty Sark was transferred to the Thames
Nautical Training College, Greenhithe in 1938 where she became an auxiliary
cadet training ship. By 1954 she was transferred to permanent dry dock at
Greenwich, London on public display. More on the
Cutty Sark
John Charles Allcot (1888-1973), artist, was
born in Liverpool, England, son of George Allcot, mariner. Educated at Arnot
Street Board School, at the age of 14 John was apprenticed to Tillotson &
Son Ltd, lithographers, and attended classes at the Liverpool Institute and
School of Art. In 1906 he worked in the Mersey tugboats and next year sailed as
a deck-boy in the barque, Invermark. He loved painting and would scrounge
ship's paint, sailcloth and handkerchiefs with which to depict the sea, ships
and life on board.
Arriving
in Sydney in 1909, Allcot signed on with the old clipper, Antiope. He worked in
coastal, island and intercolonial vessels out of Sydney before giving up the
sea in 1912. Supporting himself by painting theatre sets, he obtained
commissions for ship paintings from Sydney photographers and toured the
countryside, completing landscapes which he exhibited regularly with the Royal
Art Society of New South Wales from 1920. About this time he formed an enduring
friendship with Phyllis Zanker.
He
gained widespread recognition in the 1920s with a series of oil paintings (on
the founding of the Australian colonies) which were later acquired by the
Australasian Pioneers' Club. Other commissions followed. Allcot also worked as
an illustrator and wrote articles about the sea for the Sydney Mail. In the
1940s he painted the seas for ship-models built by the sculptor Robert Klippel.
Allcot's painting of the Cutty Sark was presented to the Duke of Edinburgh in
1954.
Painting to tried and tested conventions, with impeccable
attention to detail, Allcot used water-colour and gouache, and oils. His work
was prolific and romantic. At a time of great change in the shipping industry,
he specialized in nostalgic views of sailing ships and steamers, and found an
appreciative market of ship-owners, captains, crews and their families. More on John Charles Allcot
Please visit my other blogs: Art
Collector, Mythology, Marine
Art, Portrait of a Lady, The
Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The
Canals of Venice, Middle
East Artists, and 365 Saints, also visit my Boards on Pinterest
Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others.
Some Images may be subject to copyright
I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless
it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell
me.
I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are
shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.
If you
enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.
Thank
you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.
Please
note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available
from Wikipedia or other free sources online.
No comments:
Post a Comment