Genoa Harbour

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

John Thomas Serres was born in London, son of marine painter Dominic Serres the elder. On his father's death he succeeded him as Marine Painter to George III. In 1800, he was appointed Marine Draughtsman to the Admiralty and employed to draw the coasts of Britain, France, Spain and the Mediterranean. He also taught at Chelsea Naval School, painted battle scenes and published ‘Liber Nauticus’ (1805), with plates after his and his father’s drawings. In 1817, he became a proprietor of the Coburg Theatre and subsequently the scenic director. He married a pupil, Olivia Wilmot, who claimed to be the daughter of the Duke of Cumberland. Her behaviour ruined Serres, who lost favour in court. He died soon after his release from a debtor's prison.

Places

Mediterranean Sea, Italy, Genoa

Subjects

rowing boat, fisherman, topography, seascape/coastal scene, man, harbour, house, lighthouse, sailboat, ship

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), watercolour (as artists materials), ink, watercolour (as object name), pen and ink drawing

Artist

John Thomas Serres (1759 - 1825)

Title

Genoa Harbour

Date

1796

Medium

Pen and ink and watercolour on paper

Dimensions

height: 33.10 cm, width: 73.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Sir Bruce Ingram, 1963

Inscription

RC edge on wall: J.T.Serres / Genoa 179.?

Provenance

Collection of journalist and newspaper editor Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877-1963) and on loan to the Ministry of Works from 1952; from whom purchased by the Ministry of Works in 1963

GAC number

1590