Though ships have been represented in art from ancient times, marine painting as we know it dates from the sixteenth century. On the evidence of this dictionary, it seems always to have been a specialised branch of art. With a few exceptions, notably Turner, the great names of painting left ships alone, and a lesser‐known school of artists supplied marine paintings. Not surprisingly, many were themselves seamen, and their products sometimes fell short in technical skill. The present volume is now in its third edition, but unfortunately the author, who for 30 years was Curator of Oil Paintings at the National Maritime Museum, did not live to see it in print. I have not read the earlier editions, but this one is stated to have added over 100 newly‐researched artists (out of a total of about 1,600), besides further information on those already included, and more illustrations. The smaller entries are of only a few lines, whereas the most famous artists are given up to a page each. In some cases, the locations of important works are stated.
Several introductory essays, largely in pictures, and designed to assist in the identification of paintings, would be of use to students of marine history generally. These include one on historic maritime flags (illustrated in colour), one on the development of ship design from 1600 to 1900, and one on the forms of coastal craft seen in each significant country.
The most remarkable feature of the dictionary is the space devoted to reproductions of paintings. The main text comprises 125 pages, whereas the illustrations account for 442 pages, of which 56 are in colour. The monochrome reproductions are mostly two or three to a page, but some of the coloured illustrations are accorded a two‐page spread. It has been possible to include illustrations of the work of about half of the painters listed in the text. There is an index of the identifiable places depicted in the illustrations, but, surprisingly, not of the ships in them.
A look through the reproductions suggests that until the end of the eighteenth century, marine paintings usually represented warships. Naturally, most battle scenes were commissioned by the victors, and this probably explains why the majority of the painters listed were British or Dutch. By the nineteenth century there arose a less ambitious form of art in which a captain, or even a sailor, might obtain a simple painting of his own ship from a local artist. In our own century, historical scenes, painted retrospectively, seem to be more common than before, perhaps because artists find the likes of a clipper ship more romantic than a container ship. Marine art appears to be as popular as ever, and so there will continue to be many readers who will benefit from this standard work, which should find a place in all libraries with artistic or maritime collections.
