Montague Dawson

(British, 1890–1973)

Montague Dawson was one of the foremost nautical painters of the 20th century. Though often depicting clipper ships from the 19th century, he sometimes depicted ships from the late 17th-century, as in one of his most famous works The Crescent Moon, which shows a three-decker pirate ship on a calm night in the Southern seas. Born on September 19, 1890 in London, United Kingdom, Dawson had no formal art training, but began to draw as a child and developed his illustration skills at a commercial art studio in 1910. Even after joining the Royal Navy, the British artist continued to submit his work to publications such as Sphere and The Graphic. He died on May 21, 1973 in Midhurst, United Kingdom at the age of 83. Dawson’s highly realistic style of maritime painting and dedication to technical accuracy has made him into a particularly popular seascape artist, and his works can be found in the collections of the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, United Kingdom.