Reuben Chappell stands as a significant, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the realm of British marine art. Active during a pivotal period of maritime history—the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—Chappell dedicated his artistic endeavors almost exclusively to the depiction of ships. His vast output, primarily in watercolor, provides an invaluable visual record of the vessels that plied the waters around Britain and Northern Europe, capturing the transition from sail to steam. His work, characterized by a distinctive, straightforward style, was immensely popular with the seafarers themselves, ensuring his legacy as a "pierhead painter" of remarkable diligence and skill.
Early Life and Artistic Awakening in Goole
Reuben Chappell was born on July 21, 1870, in Doyle Street, Goole, a bustling inland port town in Yorkshire, England. He was the youngest of six children. His father's profession, initially a carpenter and later a ship's captain, undoubtedly immersed young Reuben in the maritime world from an early age. The sights and sounds of the Goole docks, with their constant traffic of ketches, schooners, brigs, and early steamships, would have been a formative influence, shaping his lifelong fascination with nautical subjects.
Chappell received his early education at the Goole Grammar School. It was here, and through his own keen observation, that his artistic talents began to emerge. While not formally trained in an academic art institution in the manner of contemporaries like Charles Napier Hemy, who studied at the Royal Academy Schools, Chappell was largely self-taught. He did, however, receive some guidance in photography and perhaps rudimentary drawing techniques from a local Goole photographer named Harrison. This early exposure to photography might have subtly influenced his eye for detail and composition, though his painterly style remained distinct from photographic realism.
By the age of twenty, around 1890, Chappell had embarked on his career as a professional ship portraitist. He established a small studio in Goole, strategically positioning himself to solicit commissions directly from the captains and crews of the vessels visiting the port. This direct-to-consumer model was common among pierhead artists, who provided a relatively affordable and cherished memento for seafarers.
The Goole Years: Forging a Style
During his years in Goole, Chappell honed his characteristic artistic style. He worked predominantly in watercolors, a medium well-suited to the quick execution often required for on-the-spot commissions and for capturing the transient effects of light and water. His approach was bold and direct, with vibrant, if sometimes limited, color palettes. A typical Chappell ship portrait presents the vessel in a broadside or slightly angled view, usually under sail and often depicted "sailing downwind," with sails billowing. The backgrounds are generally simple, often a stylized representation of sea and sky, ensuring the ship itself remains the undisputed focal point.
His depictions aimed for accuracy in rigging, hull form, and specific markings, details crucial to his clientele who knew their ships intimately. While not possessing the dramatic flair of J.M.W. Turner's tumultuous seascapes or the meticulous, almost photographic detail of later marine painters like Montague Dawson, Chappell's work had an honest, unpretentious quality that resonated with working mariners. He captured the essence and character of each vessel, from humble coastal traders to more substantial barques and early steamships. One such example, often cited, is his depiction of the "Schooner Traveller," which showcases his typical approach to form, sail, and the maritime environment.
It is said that Chappell became so engrossed in painting ships that he sometimes neglected other potential avenues of artistic income, leading to periods of financial struggle. However, his dedication to his chosen subject matter was unwavering. His primary clients were often the masters and crews of Scandinavian, particularly Danish, vessels that frequented Goole for its coal exports. This connection would remain strong throughout his career.
Relocation to Cornwall and Continued Prolificacy
In 1904, due to persistent health issues, likely exacerbated by the industrial environment of Goole, Reuben Chappell made a significant life change. He relocated south to the milder climes of Cornwall, settling in Par, near Fowey, another active port, though with a different character to Goole. He would spend the remainder of his life in Cornwall, continuing his prolific output of ship portraits. The move did not seem to diminish his productivity; indeed, the Cornish coast, with its rich maritime traditions and diverse shipping traffic, provided ample subject matter.
Even in Cornwall, his reputation, particularly among the Scandinavian seafaring community, preceded him. He continued to receive commissions, often working from sketches, memory, or even photographs provided by his clients. His style remained largely consistent, a testament to its established appeal and his own artistic convictions. He was not an artist who chased changing fashions or experimented radically with modernist trends that were then emerging with artists like Roger Fry or the Bloomsbury Group. Chappell knew his niche and served it faithfully.
Over his lifetime, it is estimated that Reuben Chappell produced an astonishing number of paintings—sources suggest over 12,000. This incredible volume speaks to his work ethic and the consistent demand for his art. He rarely, if ever, exhibited his work in formal galleries, unlike contemporaries such as William Lionel Wyllie, who was a celebrated Royal Academician. Chappell's "gallery" was the quayside, and his patrons were the men who sailed the ships he depicted. He earned his living entirely through these commissions.
Artistic Style and Technique in Detail
Reuben Chappell's artistic signature is quite distinct. His primary medium was watercolor, occasionally supplemented with gouache for highlights or more opaque passages. His compositions, as mentioned, favored the broadside view, allowing for a clear depiction of the vessel's profile, rigging, and sail plan. This was a convention long established in ship portraiture, seen in the work of earlier artists like Nicholas Pocock or Robert Salmon, who also aimed to provide an accurate "likeness" of a specific ship.
Chappell's drawing was generally accurate in terms of nautical detail, a critical factor for his clients. He had a knack for capturing the sheer line of a hull, the set of the sails, and the intricate network of rigging. While his waves might appear somewhat stylized, often depicted with a characteristic rhythmic pattern and white crests, they effectively convey the sense of the ship being at sea. His skies, too, were often simple washes, sometimes with formulaic cloud shapes, but they served their purpose of providing a backdrop without detracting from the main subject.
His color palette was often bright and clear. He used strong blues for the sea and sky, crisp whites for sails and breaking waves, and paid careful attention to the hull colors, flags, and other identifying features of the ships. There's a certain naivety or folk-art quality to his work, which is part of its charm and appeal. It lacks the academic polish of Clarkson Stanfield or the atmospheric depth of the Dutch marine tradition exemplified by artists like Willem van de Velde the Younger, but it possesses an immediacy and authenticity that is compelling.
Unlike artists such as Winslow Homer, whose marine works often explored the dramatic struggle between humanity and the sea, Chappell's paintings are generally more serene, celebrating the vessel itself as a proud object of human ingenuity and a source of livelihood. There is a sense of order and competence in his depictions; the ships are usually shown in good trim, sailing purposefully.
Chappell in the Context of Marine Art
To fully appreciate Reuben Chappell, it's useful to place him within the broader tradition of marine art and alongside his contemporaries. The tradition of ship portraiture, specifically, emerged from the desire of ship owners, captains, and builders to have a visual record of their vessels. Early proponents in Britain included Peter Monamy and Samuel Scott in the 18th century. By the 19th century, with expanding global trade and naval power, marine art flourished.
J.M.W. Turner, while a towering figure in landscape and marine art, approached the sea with a romantic and often elemental vision, far removed from Chappell's straightforward documentarian approach. Clarkson Stanfield, another prominent Victorian marine painter, combined dramatic compositions with considerable accuracy, often depicting historical naval battles or grand coastal scenes.
Among Chappell's closer contemporaries, William Lionel Wyllie was a master of capturing the atmosphere of estuaries and harbors, his work often filled with a multitude of vessels and human activity, rendered with a more impressionistic touch. Charles Napier Hemy, R.A., specialized in coastal scenes and fishing boats, often with a strong narrative element and a robust, textured application of paint. Thomas Somerscales, who spent time in Chile, became known for his dramatic portrayals of sailing ships battling heavy seas, particularly around Cape Horn, rendered with a crisp, detailed realism.
Montague Dawson, though his career peaked slightly later than Chappell's most active period, became perhaps the most commercially successful British marine painter of the 20th century, known for his highly polished and romanticized depictions of clipper ships and naval engagements. Chappell's work, by contrast, was more vernacular, less idealized, and directly connected to the working life of the ships he painted. He shares more in common with the earlier, more functional ship portraitists like the Roux family of Marseilles or Danish artists like Anton Melbye, who also catered to a seafaring clientele, though Melbye achieved greater international fame and a more polished technique.
Chappell's focus on specific, often quite ordinary, commercial vessels also sets him apart. While some artists glorified naval power or the romance of the great tea clippers, Chappell diligently recorded the workaday schooners, ketches, brigs, and early steam coasters that formed the backbone of maritime trade. In this, his work serves an important historical function, documenting a class of vessel often overlooked by more "high art" painters.
The Legacy of a Pierhead Painter
Reuben Chappell passed away in 1940, at the age of 70. He left behind an immense body of work that, while perhaps not always lauded in mainstream art historical circles during his lifetime, has gained increasing recognition for its historical importance and unique charm. His paintings are more than just pictures of ships; they are tangible links to a bygone era of maritime activity, capturing the pride and identity invested in these vessels by the men who built, owned, and sailed them.
His works are now found in numerous public and private collections, including the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the Goole Museum (which holds a significant collection and actively promotes his legacy), and various museums in Denmark and other parts of Northern Europe, reflecting his strong connections with Scandinavian mariners. The Goole Civic Society has even established an outdoor "Reuben Chappell Art Trail" in his hometown, featuring reproductions of his paintings.
The term "pierhead painter" sometimes carries a connotation of being somewhat crude or unsophisticated. However, artists like Chappell fulfilled a vital role. They provided accessible art for a community that deeply valued it. Their work required a keen eye, a steady hand, and an intimate knowledge of ships – qualities Chappell possessed in abundance. His paintings are a testament to a life dedicated to observing and recording the maritime world with honesty and affection.
In an era where photography was becoming more widespread, Chappell's watercolors offered something different: a personalized, colored, and often slightly idealized representation of a seaman's vessel, a cherished possession that might be hung in a captain's cabin or in his home ashore. He documented the transition from sail to steam, capturing the last great era of commercial sailing vessels alongside the emerging dominance of steam power. Artists like Norman Wilkinson, who came later and was famed for his wartime dazzle camouflage as well as his marine paintings and posters, would depict a more modern, often more militarized, maritime world. Chappell's work, however, remains firmly rooted in the late Victorian and Edwardian merchant marine.
Conclusion: An Enduring Contribution
Reuben Chappell of Goole, and later of Par, Cornwall, may not have sought the limelight of the established art world, but his contribution to maritime art and history is undeniable. His thousands of ship portraits form a remarkable visual archive, celebrating the everyday vessels and the seafaring communities that depended on them. His distinctive style, born of self-teaching and a profound connection to his subject matter, has an enduring appeal. As an art historian, one recognizes in Chappell not a revolutionary innovator in the vein of a Monet exploring light on water, nor a grand history painter like Benjamin West, but a dedicated and skilled craftsman who perfectly understood his audience and his subject. He was a chronicler, a visual storyteller of the ships that were the lifeblood of coastal and international trade, and his work continues to provide insight and pleasure to maritime enthusiasts and art lovers alike.
