John (The Elder) Cleveley - Artist Info

About John (The Elder) Cleveley

  • Biography

    JOHN CLEVELEY THE ELDER
    Southwark circa 1712 – 1777 Deptford

    John Cleveley the Elder was a highly accomplished painter of ship portraits, dockyard scenes, sea fights and panoramic celebrations of mid-eighteenth century Royal Navy squadrons, the latter sometimes based on compositions by Willem van de Velde the Younger (1633-1707). His style is colourful, meticulous and with a thorough understanding of sea and ships. Despite his talent as an artist, officially he spent his entire career as a shipwright in the royal dockyard at Deptford.

    Born around 1712, John was the son of Samuel Cleveley, a joiner of Newington Butts, Southwark. On 3rd November 1726 he was apprenticed to the joiner Thomas Miller, and then worked wi...

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