WARD, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The British Navy. First and only edition, unrecorded on WorldCat and held only by the National Maritime Museum as an incomplete set. The lithographs, likely produced as material for Ward's planned manual of marine painting, show a variety of naval vessels from the schooner Wanderer to the frigate Vindictive and the steamship Alban. John Ward (1798-1849) was born in Kingston upon Hull as the son of master mariner Abraham Ward. He honed his artistic skills as an apprentice to a house- and ship-painter and his earliest attributed work dates to 1821. Ten years later, he had a picture accepted by the Royal Academy, and "he produced a large number of panels depicting Hull's waterfront, the Old Harbour and ships on the Humber... They were undoubtedly painted to the order of an owner or master whose main interest was in the accurate depiction of his craft. Nevertheless Ward usually managed to produce a satisfying composition with varying degrees of scenic interest" (Credland).In 1843, Ward announced his retirement and began work on a comprehensive guide to ship portrait painting. At the same time he produced sets of lithographs for sale, as in the present example. In his introduction he remarks that they are "expressly executed as a work of information and instruction... A clear and picturesque delineation of some of the most approved vessels at present afloat". Ward died of cholera before his project was complete, making preliminary publications like this the only surviving evidence

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