Whitcombe, Thomas

English artist Thomas Whitcombe is considered one of the foremost painters of maritime art and the French Revolutionary wars, with works standing today in the Tate, the National Gallery and the National Maritime Museum. Whitcombe painted over 150 works detailing the affairs of English fleets during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including his contribution of 55 watercolors for The Naval Achievements of Great Britain, From the Year 1793 to 1817, published in 1817 under James Jenkins. For its time, The Naval Achievements of Great Britain was unprecedented in its accuracy, giving the most precise written and pictorial accounts of naval life over a period of 20 years. Never before had a publisher attempted such a complete volume of documentary naval images. Together Whitcombe and fellow marine artist Nicolas Pocock contributed the 55 watercolors for the folio. This selection of hand-colored aquatints from the volume features some of the most historically important and visually stimulating images from these battles.