Montague Dawson is widely considered the best-known sea painter of the 20th Century, and one of the most skilled craftsman in the direct line of English marine artists. He is noted for his unerringly beautiful ships, the weight and surging power of his waves and the scudding grace of his skies. In a painting by Dawson, the elements and the ships are one, united in a harmony of motion and color which immediately rings true. 

 

Dawson was born in Chiswick, England, the son of an enthusiastic Thames yachtsman and grandson of noted English landscape painter Henry Dawson. Early in his life the Dawson family moved to Southampton where he spent his time fishing, sailing and watching the great ships of the world anchoring in the harbor. As a young naval officer during WWI, he met and was greatly influenced by English artist C. Napier Hemy and would spend the remainder of his life as a professional painter and illustrator. 

 

Today works by Montague Dawson grace the private collections of royalty and presidents as well as important museums worldwide. His reputation as "the King of the Clipper Ship Artists" has penetrated into every part of the civilized world. He was a master of his genre, the like of which we may never see again.