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Frederick Calvert (c. 1790 - 1844) Sailing Craft in Mount's Bay, Cornwall c.1825oil on canvas 61 x 92cm (24 x 36.2in)Collecti

Morgan O' Driscoll

Lot 26

Frederick Calvert (c. 1790 - 1844) Sailing Craft in Mount's Bay, Cornwall c.1825oil on canvas 61 x 92cm (24 x 36.2in)Collection of Princess Duleep Singh; Private Collection; Thence by Descent This dramatic canvas by Frederick Calvert depicts sailing vessels near St. Michael's Mount, a tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall. The view is taken from the north shore; to the left is the island, surmounted by castle and abbey, while in the far distance is the Lizard peninsula, the most southerly point on the English coast. In the foreground, a three-masted lugger, with crew and passengers, heels over in a strong south-westerly wind as it heads out across the bay, while in the background a larger trading brig approaches, probably making towards Newlyn. There are several white sails on the horizon, while in the distance a sloop, beyond the lugger, is heading out to sea. Exposed to southerly gales, Mount's Bay is by no means a safe anchorage and there have been many shipwrecks there over the years. In his marine paintings, Calvert often combined a variety of sailing craft, including fishing smacks, men-o-war and trading vessels. He specialised in scenes of impending storms and choppy seas, with ships heeling over in strong winds; his skies are characterised by contrasts of dark rainclouds and blue patches of sky. Often, he depicted ships running for shelter; there is a sense of urgency as they seek refuge from oncoming storms. Although Calvert painted mainly along the south coast of England, at locations such as Ramsgate, the Needles, the Isle of Wight and Dover, he also produced scenes set in Irish coastal waters. His skies and seas are finely painted, and the compositions, and contrasts of light and shade, add drama to his work. Born in Cork around 1790, Frederick Calvert may have been related to the John Calvert, who appears in the list of Cork freemen 1710-1841, described as a 'cotton manufacturer'. In 1807, Frederick's aquatint view of the newly-constructed Parliament Bridge in Cork was published (coll. National Library of Ireland), and five years later he exhibited View near Rathfarnham at the Society of Artists in Dublin. In 1815 he showed two Dublin scenes at the Hibernian Society's exhibition. Around that time, he moved to England, publishing four aquatints of the interior of Tintern Abbey in Wye valley, a ruin made famous in the Romantic era by William Wordsworth and JMW Turner. Several of these aquatints are in the National Library of Wales; one shows the exterior of the Abbey, while another depicts sightseers wandering amidst ivy-clad ruins, admiring the nave and south window. Both images have lines of poetry inscribed underneath. In 1815 also, Calvert's three-part book, Lessons on Landscape in Three Parts: Consisting of Pencilling, Shadowing, and Colouring was published. Maintaining that 'the rules of Art are as simple as the lessons of Nature', Calvert's manual was intended to help amateur painters achieve more professional results, He continued to exhibit in Ireland, and in 1821 his views of Wicklow were included in an "Exhibition of Works by Old Masters, Artists and Amateurs" held in Limerick. The following year he published The Forest Illustrated (coll. V & A), a series of lithographs depicting ash, oak and fir trees, as seen in both winter and summer. His lithograph print On the River Lea, County Cork (NLI) was published in London in 1824, while a fine lithograph of Killarney (NLI), after an original drawing by Dr. John Hume, Dean of Kerry, dates from four years later. By then Calvert was settled in London, with a studio on Pall Mall, where he exhibited views of Dover Castle and Broughton Castle. He began to specialise in marine paintings in the 1830's, showing works at the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Belfast Association of Artists. Over the following two decades he exhibited mainly at the British Institution, and with the Society of British Artists at Suffolk Street. His books include Picturesque Views of Staffordshire (1830), containing thirty-nine plates, engraved on steel by T. Radclyffe, and Picturesque Views of Shropshire (1831), with thirty-four engravings. These were produced in association with William West. Calvert also contributed papers and illustrations to the Archaeological Journal. Works by him are in the British Museum, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the V & A, Walker Art Gallery, and several regional museums including Bristol and Lancashire. His Shipping in Dublin Bay is in Calke Abbey, while his Lobstermen hauling in their pots off a French coast was shown at the Gorry Gallery, Dublin, in 2013. Apart from three prints in the National Library, Calvert does not appear to be represented in any Irish national collection. The date of his death is not known, but was probably around 1844: He is not to be confused with a Suffolk artist of the same name, a clergyman who died in 1855. Peter Murray, October 2018

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