Montague Dawson
Montague Dawson 1895-1973, Running before the Wind, Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in (50.8 x 76.2 cm)
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Knowledgeable collectors and art dealers conversant with fine maritime art would agree with that, “Montague Dawson is…quite simply one of the greatest marine painters who made the age of sail his own thus redefining maritime art and inspiring a generation in the process.” [1]
Although the vessel featured in Running Before the Wind is not identified, it bears a striking similarity to a slightly larger composition by Montague Dawson of 1951, “The American Clipper Asterion running before the Wind” which was sold at auction in 2016.
From 1926, and continuing throughout his career, Montague Dawson exhibited at Frost and Reed, an important fine art gallery in London, England. As one might well imagine, Dawson’s paintings were collected and coveted by sailing enthusiasts certainly throughout the western world. Locally, in a Canadian context, the Montreal offices of Marine Industries, the ship building firm of the Simard family, originally of Sorel, Quebec, boasted a handsome and extensive collection of Montague Dawson paintings.
In a biographical sketch of Montague Dawson, Janet Whitmore Ph.D., concluded: “When he died in 1973, he left behind a legacy of contemporary marine paintings unequalled in the twentieth century.” [2]
Montague Dawson’s paintings were purchased by the Royal Family, U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson, and are included in the collections of the following museums, to name only a selection:
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, England
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, England
Tyne and Wear Museum, Newcastle on Tyne, England
Mariners Museum, Newport Rhode Island
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI
Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
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Footnotes:
[1] David Mason. “Montague Dawson, RSMA, FRSA (1890 - 1973) | Artist | Macconnal-Mason.” www.macconnal-Mason.com, www.macconnal-mason.com/artist-detail/240421/montague-dawson-rsma-frsa. Accessed 11 Aug. 2023.
[2] Janet Whitmore. “Montague Dawson.” Rehs.com, rehs.com/eng/default-19th20th-century-artist-bio-page/?fl_builder&artist_no=193&sold=1. Accessed 11 Aug. 2023.
