James Brereton (British b.1954) “The Dawn Watch” oil on wood panel in a Watts style frame. Signed recto lower right. Signed and titled verso.

Anyone who has sailed will recognize the authenticity and exceptional painting of this scene. A moment aboard a tall ship in a brisk breeze unerringly captured by a leading British marine artist.

MEASUREMENTS:
Sight (visible painting) 23” x 28.25’ (58.5cm x 71.75cm)
Frame: 32.5” x 37.5” (82.5cm x 95.25cm)

CONDITION:
Painting: In excellent, original, ready-to-hang condition. No signs of restoration found under ultraviolet light.
Frame: A very good, gilded, Watts-style frame. Part painted grey, which works well with the painting.

BIOGRAPHY: Born in Derby in 1954, James Brereton trained at the Joseph Wright Art School. It was 1979 before he had established himself sufficiently to devote himself full-time to his art.

Sailing aboard the sail training ship Sir Winston Churchill inspired Brereton to devote himself to marine painting, with oils as his preferred medium, and his studies in this genre were strongly influenced by Montague Dawson and Thomas Summerscales.

Now one of the UK’s leading marine artists, his exhibitions include Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Mall Galleries, and several London private galleries. His work has been included in “by 20th Century British Marine Painting” by Denys Brook-Hart, and E.H.H. Archibald’s “Dictionary of Sea Painters of Europe and America”.