John Cleveley the Elder
F2. Maritime Culture, Heritage, Archaeology, Art and MuseumsDefinition
Eighteenth-century English marine painter.
John Cleveley the Elder, English marine painter, around 1712 to 1777, who worked as a shipwright at Deptford dockyard before painting. His pictures record ship launches and naval dockyard scenes on the Thames with a craftsman’s accuracy of rigging and hull form. His twin sons John Cleveley the Younger and Robert Cleveley continued the family’s marine work; Robert and James Cleveley sailed with Captain Cook. A representative subject is the launch of a man-of-war at Deptford.
Source: John Cleveley the Elder (c.1712 to 1777), English marine painter and Deptford shipwright.