Antique Watercolor Engraving By Clarkson Frederick Stanfield From The 19th Century

"The Battle of Trafalgar" Fine engraving by William Miller and drawn by C. Stanfield Clarkson Frederick Stanfield was born in Sunderland, son of James Field Stanfield (1749-1824), author, actor and former sailor of Irish origin, and Mary Hoad, artist and actress. Stanfield probably inherited the artistry from his mother, who was said to be an accomplished artist, but died in 1801. His father remarried, to Maria Kell, a year later. Stanfield is named after Thomas Clarkson, the slave trade abolitionist, whom his father knew, and it was the only name he used, although there is reason to believe Frederick was a second. He was briefly apprenticed to a car decorator in 1806, but quit due to the drunkenness of his master's wife and joined a miner from South Shields to become a sailor. In 1808 he was pushed into the Royal Navy, serving on the guard ship HMS Namur in Sheerness. Released for health reasons in 1814, he then went to China in 1815 aboard the East Indiaman Warley and returned with many sketches. Stanfield developed his skills as an easel painter, particularly of marine subjects; he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy in 1820 and continued, with only a few initial interruptions, until his death. He was also a founding member of the Society of British Artists (from 1824) and its president for 1829, and exhibited there and at the British Institution, where in 1828 his painting Wreckers off Fort Rouge received a prize of 50 guineas. He was elected Associate Fellow of the Royal Academy in 1832 and became a full scholar in February 1835. His elevation was in part the result of the interest of William IV who, after admiring his St. Michael's Mount at the 'Academy in 1831 (now in the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia), commissioned two works to him: Opening of the new London Bridge (1832) and The entrance to Portsmouth harbor. [2] Both remain in the royal collection. Until his death he contributed to the Academy with a long series of powerful and very popular works, both marine subjects and landscapes from his travels in his home country and in France, the Netherlands. Bas, Germany, Italy, Spain and Ireland. Notable works include: [The Battle of Trafalgar (1836), performed for the United Service Club