The cutter Mary of Cowes off Cowshot Castle, 1797, oil on canvas.
Thomas Whitcombe was certainly a prolific artist, best known for his ship portraits, battle scenes, harbour views and ships in storms. He produced a large number of French Revolutionary Wars subjects and is one of the main recorders of that conflict. He exhibited 56 marine paintings at the Royal Academy between 1783 and 1824.
In spite of the large number of works produced by Whitcombe, we know very little about him. He was born in London around 1752 and it was there that he seems to have spent most of his working life. He is also known for the 50 plates he contributed to The Naval Achievements of Great Britain, which was published in 1819. Whitcombe's depiction of ships is always convincing and this suggests that he had first hand experience of life at sea.
Some of his battle scenes are a little stiff, but at his best Whitcombe could produce convincing atmospheric effect, where the movement of the sea and use of cloud patterns has an impact that is comparable with the best English marine painters of his time.
