Francis Holman

Background

He was born in Ramsgate and baptized on 14 November 1729 at Street Laurence-in-Thanet, Ramsgate. His father was a master mariner, and his grandfather a Ramsgate cooper.

Career

Young Francis would certainly have been immersed in the maritime world during his up-bringing. The legacy of this early knowledge is a wealth of detail and accuracy in his later work. Francis Holman lived in at least five addresses in Wapping on the Thames in London.

He was apparently childless when he wrote his will in 1783.

Holman died in Wapping on 29 November 1784. Captain John Holman brought his body back to Ramsgate for burial on 4 December in Jane"s family vault at Street Laurence, where the vicar recorded his death as due to "lethargy".

According to Lionel Cust in the Dictionary of National Biography, Holman"s work "met with unmerited neglect". His attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of his subject have left us with a valuable record of eighteenth century maritime life, and consequently his reputation as a major marine painter has grown.

Achievements

• More recently, his paintings have achieved good prices at auction and form significant collections at museums, not least the National Maritime Museum.

Connections

teacher:

Thomas Luny