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THE SPREAD EAGLE ART COLLECTION The Spread Eagle spans more than 300 years of history. It is situated on Stockwell Street, one of the most ancient roads in the historic town of Greenwich. Originally a tavern from before 1650 The Spread Eagle has been a popular restaurant since the 18th century. It has been frequented by famous actors, architects, artists and authors, caricaturists and comedians, magicians and musicians, as well as politicians, servicemen and sportsmen. The advent of rail travel in the 1830s, and later the development of motor transportation, led to the demise of The Spread Eagle as a coaching inn. It survived as a tavern until 1922. For more than forty years it was occupied by a printers and bookbinders, and finally the receiving office of a laundry. The Moy family purchased the property in 1964 and Richard (Dick) F Moy began the task of restoring the building as a restaurant. During the restoration process many original features were uncovered and many lost relics were discovered. Roman pottery, a Tudor shoe, and a Kentish ‘fives’ board - the forerunner of darts, were found. Also a whip, that may well have been used by Joseph Sheel, The Spread Eagle coachman renowned in Greenwich for his bare-fist fighting. In 1819 he fought Bishop Sharpe and lost a £25 wager. An historic print, now part of The Spread Eagle Art Collection, portrays him knocked upside down. (See page 4) A trunk was discovered in the attic which originally belonged to Mrs Webb - the landlady of The Spread Eagle during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. This was also the popular period of English Music Hall and the trunk contained her collection of dedicated photographs and letters of her musical and theatrical clientele. The artistes had all performed at the neighbouring halls of present-day Greenwich Theatre. Dan Leno was described as ‘the Funniest Man on Earth’ and performed in front of the King in 1901. He stayed at The Spread Eagle for several months. Other regulars included Harry Champion who popularised songs such as ‘Any Old Iron’. Albert Chevalier, Gus Elen and George Robey were a popular draw. Vesta Tilley was feted as a male impersonator, beloved for her rendition of ‘Burlington Bertie’. While Marie Lloyd, known as the ‘Queen of the Music Hall’, shocked the establishment with her saucy interpretation of songs. Mrs Webb’s collection also contained a dedicated photograph from Harry ‘Handcuffs’ Houdini. (See page 4)
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Design for a Spread Eagle menu by John Bratby (see pages 73-75)
Design for a Spread Eagle menu by Betty Swanwick (see page 76)
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The Moy family’s involvement with The Spread Eagle is part of the remarkable story of post-war development in Greenwich. Several colourful chefs were resident over the years and the French-style cuisine attracted widespread acclaim. Mia Farrow, Rex Harrison and Laurence Olivier dined there, also Ted Heath, Jools Holland, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. In addition to music and theatre The Spread Eagle has had close connections with the visual arts. The Moy family managed an art gallery and antique business in adjoining buildings for more than fifty years. Artist friends John Bratby and Betty Swanwick were commissioned to design menus in the 1960s and 1970s. Bratby would occasionally make use of the restaurant’s paper tablecloths to develop his ideas. After Dick Moy’s death in 2005 The Spread Eagle was acquired by Frank Dowling. Their respective historical art collections were brought together to form The Spread Eagle Art Collection. This catalogue is a pictorial souvenir of the people and the place of Greenwich. It features a wide range of distinguished artists and illustrators, from the 17th century to the present day, who were inspired by Greenwich, including many who were familiar with the tavern, coaching inn, and restaurant.
THE SPREAD EAGLE ART COLLECTION Since The Spread Eagle’s origins to the present day eighteen monarchs have ruled ranging from King James I to Queen Elizabeth II. Greenwich is closely associated with these royal rulers and the earliest surviving building is the Queen’s House, now part of the National Maritime Museum, commissioned by Anne of Denmark, consort of King James I, and completed during the early years of The Spread Eagle’s history. The catalogue is arranged in the following sections.
Stuart Greenwich 1603-1714 Georgian Greenwich 1714-1830 William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich from the River Thames William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Pensioners William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Views from the East Edward VII to Queen Elizabeth II 1901 -
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1). After E.Shephard (active early C19th) Joseph Sheel fighting Bishop Sharpe, handcoloured engraving published by Ellis & Lewin, City of London. 2). Album of Dan Leno’s Comic Song Creations. 3). Studio photograph of Harry Houdini inscribed to “..Mr & Mrs Webb” 4). “I’m Getting Ready For My Mother-in-Law” sung by Harry Champion.
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1). J. Little (active 1880s). View of Stockwell Street with St. Alfege’s Church, dated 1889, watercolour. 2). Mary Matthews (20th century). St Mary’s Church, Greenwich, dated 1925, watercolour. 3). British School (20th century). St. Alfege’s Church, watercolour.
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4). Hanslip Fletcher (1874-1955). View of Stockwell Street looking towards St. Alfege’s Church, dated 1938, graphite. The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 5
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1). Poster advertising the Greenwich and Deptford Coach. 2). Coaches outside The Spread Eagle Inn. 3). Highly decorated backboard from the prize wherry rowed for at the 91st Greenwich Regatta July 27th 1868. 4). Lloyd Roberts’ view of “Old Greenwich, Stockwell Street”.
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1). St. Mary’s Church (1823) designed by George Basevi (1794-1845) and demolished between 1935 and 1936. The archway of The Spread Eagle Yard is visible to the immediate left-hand side of the picture. 2). View towards St.Alfege’s Church in Greenwich, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736). 3). Pair of horses and commercial cart of John Lovibond & Sons, Brewers, Greenwich and Salisbury. 4). Design for a carriage by coach maker Lewis Dewey.
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Hendrik Danckerts (circa 1625-1680) King Charles II’s proposed riverside palace, the Queen’s House and the Royal Observatory from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Danckerts was a painter and engraver who was born in The Hague, where he trained. During the 1650s he toured Italy, where he settled for five years. He returned to England to be employed by King Charles II, and his brother James, Duke of York. Danckerts painted harbours, landscapes and royal residences. He also painted and engraved portraits of people. There is a similar composition by Johannes Vorsterman (16431699) in the National Maritime Museum.
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Stuart Greenwich 1603-1714
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Stuart Greenwich 1603-1714
Jan Griffier the Younger (active 1738-1773) Greenwich Hospital, the Queen’s House and the Royal Observatory from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Griffier the younger was a topographical and ideal landscape painter. He had a reputation for copying earlier artists work, especially the compositions of Claude Lorrain. He was probably the grandson of Jan Griffier senior, and son of Robert Griffier.
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After Peter Tillemans (1684-1734) The View from One Tree Hill in Greenwich Park, coloured engraving, published by John Boydell, London, 1774. Tillemans was born in Antwerp. He was a topographical painter and draughtsman. After training as a copyist he was brought to England by a picture dealer in 1708. He developed a successful practice producing views of country houses. Tillemans was highly regarded and was a popular art teacher. He also painted stage scenery.
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Georgian Greenwich 1714-1830
Attributed to Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) The View from One Tree Hill in Greenwich Park, oil painting. Gainsborough is regarded as one of the leading painters of the 18th century. He studied at St.Martin’s Lane Academy in London, and under Gravelot and Hayman. He taught himself figure painting by copying compositions of 17th and 18th centuries. This fact combined with comparison of the brushwork and draughtsmanship with fully authenticated works has led to the attribution of this painting.
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After and by Robert Dodd (1748-1815) Royal Hospital at Greenwich, etching and aquatint, published by Freeman and Woodfall, 4 June 1793. Plate 1st of a Collection of Sea Ports. Dodd was one of the principal recorders of the naval aspects of the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. He painted, engraved and published many of the subjects himself. Dodd first exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1780. He produced a very large painting (76 x 134ins) of Lord Howe’s victory on 1 June 1794. The original Greenwich oil painting is in the National Maritime Museum.
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English Naval Pensioner on One Tree Hill, Greenwich Park, hand-coloured lithograph.
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Descriptions of Battles by Sea & Land, in Two Volumes From the Kings Library’s at Greenwich & Chelsea, etched and published by Robert Dighton (circa 1752-1814), Charing Cross, March 1801.
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The Greenwich Pensioner, handcoloured mezzotint engraving with a poem by the celebrated maritime writer Charles Dibdin the Elder.
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After Edward Matthew Ward (18161879) The Greenwich Pensioner, steel-engraving by T.Holles. Published by J.Hogarth in 1845.
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David Wilkie (1785-1841) Greenwich Pensioners inside Greenwich Hospital, sepia drawing. The artist painted portraits, historical events and interior scenes. He was elected a full Academician of the Royal Academy in 1811. In 1830 he succeeded Sir Thomas Lawrence as painter in ordinary to the king.
After David Wilkie (1785-1841) A Greenwich Pensioner in the character of Commodore Trunnion, engraved by F C Lewis, published Pall Mall, London, 1826. Wilkie is regarded as one of Scotland’s finest artists. Born in Fife, he developed a love of art at an early age. He studied at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh, and after moving to London at the Royal Academy Schools. Commodore Trunnion appears in Roderick Random by T G Smollett.
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George Samuel (active 1785-circa 1823) Greenwich Hospital and the Queen’s House from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Samuel was predominately a landscape painter. He is perhaps best known as a water-colourist in the manner of Paul Sandy, but he was also capable of remarkable work in oils. He exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1785-1822 and the British Institution from 1807-23. Another large-scale oil painting of Greenwich by this artist, painted in 1816, is now in the Yale University Art Gallery.
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After and by William Daniell (1769-1837) London from Greenwich Park, coloured aquatint, published in London, August 1st 1804.
After William Daniell (1769-1837) London from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Painted after the coloured aquatint illustrated above.
Daniell excelled as a topographical artist and aquatinter. He was a pupil of his uncle Thomas Daniell, whom he accompanied and worked with in India 1785-94. Daniell also studied at the Royal Academy Schools, and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. He became a Royal Academician in 1822. Daniell produced on his own account a series of remarkable prints published as “A Voyage round Great Britain� (1814-1825).
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George Arnald (1763-1841) Greenwich Hospital from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Arnald was a landscape artist who worked in oils and watercolours. He was born in Farndip in Northamptonshire, and studied under one of the Pethers. He exhibited a steady stream of landscapes at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1788-1841. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1810. Later in life he also painted maritime subjects.
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Thomas Luny (1759-1837) Greenwich Hospital from the west, oil painting.
Luny was a successful painter, and copyist, of naval battles, general shipping and coastal scenes. He was a pupil and assistant to Francis Holman. By 1791 he had bought a house in Mark Lane, London and was able to make regular investments in interest bearing government stocks. Around 1807 he had moved to Teignmouth due to ill health. He exhibited at the Society of Free Artists, and every year at the Royal Academy from 1780 to 1793. Luny painted around 3,000 pictures, and kept detailed inventories of the title, the purchaser’s name and price. Attributed to Thomas Luny (1759-1837) Shipping and craft off Greenwich, oil painting.
This painting may well be an early example of Luny’s work produced during the period when he was studying under the Wapping based artist Francis Holman (1729-1784). 18 | Georgian Greenwich 1714-1830
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George Webster (active 1797-1832) A merchant ship and royal barge off Greenwich, oil painting. Webster first exhibited from an address in Temple Bar, London. Little is known about this gifted artist. He later moved to the Angel, Islington, and first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1826. The artist also exhibited at the British Institution between 1816 and 1832.
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Science in Sport, or the Pleasures of Astronomy; A New Instructive Pastime. Revised and approved by M.Bryan of Blackheath, published by Edward Wallis, 42 Skinner Street, Snow Hill, London from around 1815. John Wallis, with his sons John Wallis junior, and Edward Wallis, was the most prolific publisher of board games of the later 18th and early 19th centuries. Edward Wallis published under his own name circa 1815.
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John Simon (circa1675-1751) The East Prospect of Dr Flamsteeds House in Greenwich Park, copper engraving, printed and sold by Henry Overton at the White Horse, without Newgate, London. Simon was a Huguenot from Normandy who settled in London. He began to publish with Henry Overton in the early 1700s. By 1720 he had set up his own business to produce prints independently.
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Bound Prentice To A Waterman sung with Unbounded Applause by Mr. Miller, at the Royal Circus (later the Surrey Theatre). Published in October 1806 by Laurie and Whittle, 53 Fleet Street, London.
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Follower of John Nixon (active 1780- died 1818) and Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867) Fisher’s Alley, Greenwich, watercolour.
Nixon was a London merchant, amateur painter, illustrator and caricaturist. He was a friend of Thomas Rowlandson who influenced his work. The creator of this work was inspired by Nixon and familiar with Stanfield’s composition of Fisher’s Alley, a version of which is now in the National Maritime Museum.
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William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich from the River Thames After Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867) Greenwich Hospital from the Isle of Dogs, oil painting.
Stanfield was born in Sunderland. During a visit to London in 1812 he was pressed into the Navy where his talents as a self-taught painter were noticed and encouraged. He became a scene-painter in London theatres, a prolific illustrator, and a successful painter of marines and landscapes. The original composition was created for G. Cooke’s London and it’s Vicinity (1826-34). After Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867) Greenwich Hospital from the east, oil painting.
In 1835 Stanfield was elected a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts, where he was a regular exhibiter. Few artists had greater knowledge of ships and sea conditions. John Ruskin, the celebrated Victorian writer, artist and critic, regarded him as a close rival to Turner. The original composition ‘Jack helping Freeman the fisherman’ was created for Marryat’s Poor Jack (1840) The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 23
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Francis Moltino (1818-1874) Greenwich Hospital, oil painting. Moltino painted many scenes around the Isle of Wight, in the Tidal Thames and towards the end of his career in Venice. If a subject was popular he would paint several similar versions as illustrated here. He lived at Little Russell Street in Covent Garden.
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Francis Moltino (1818-1874) Greenwich Hospital, oil painting. The artist exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Institution and the Suffolk Street Galleries. For his exhibit at the British Institution in 1853 entitled Straw Boats on the River Yare he was asking a price of 50 guineas.
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Arthur Meadows (1843-1907) Greenwich Hospital from the east, oil painting. Meadows was a follower of the popular Victorian artist Clarkson Stanfield. He produced atmospheric marines and coastal views. Meadows exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1863 and 1872, at the British Institution between 1863 and 1867, and also at the Society of British Artists.
26 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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Robert Taylor Pritchett (1828-1907) Greenwich Hospital from the Isle of Dogs, oil painting. Pritchett painted landscape and continental rustic scenes. He exhibited four pictures at the Royal Academy of Arts including Fish Buyers on the Beach - Scheveningen. The artist also painted in India, and was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
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British School (19th century) View of Greenwich from the east, oil painting. This small-scale lively oil sketch is unsigned. It may have been produced on-the-spot by the artist and intended as a preparatory work for a larger picture. However, it is full of atmosphere and portrays vessels moored close to the Trafalgar Tavern.
28 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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After Samuel Owen (1768-1857) View of Greenwich Hospital, oil painting. Several different types of trading and passenger vessels can been seen in this painting originally acquired by Dick Moy. This painting is in fact a copy after Samuel Owen, a popular water-colourist of coastal and fishing views. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1794. The original illustration was engraved by W B Cooke for Cooke’s Views on The Thames (1822).
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Henry Smythe (active 1840s -1860s) Sail and steam vessels before Greenwich Hospital, oil painting. There may not be any recorded information on this artist but he was clearly capable of outstanding work. The view is from the Isle of Dogs on the North Bank of the Thames and the composition is a careful balance of sail and steam vessels with a clear view of the buildings to the immediate east of Greenwich Hospital, including the Trafalgar Tavern.
30 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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John Lynn (active 1828-1838) The steam vessel Shannon passing Greenwich Hospital, oil on canvas. Little is known of this gifted artist except that he exhibited marines at the British Institution working from an address off the Commercial Road in London. He painted many yachting subjects, and general shipping scenes. His work is represented in the National Maritime Museum.
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Henry Thomas Dawson (active 1860-1873) A hulk moored in the Thames, off Woolwich, oil painting. Hulks were old naval vessels used for accommodation, storage, hospitals and prisons. They were once a familiar sight on the River Thames off Greenwich. Dawson was an engineer and an enthusiastic yachtsman, as well as being a painter of marines. He exhibited at the British Institution and at the Royal Academy of Arts. His son, Montague Dawson, was also a marine painter and is best known today for his dramatic depictions of clipper ships.
32 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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James Francis Danby (1816-1875) Greenwich Hospital from the east, oil painting. Born in Bristol, Danby was the eldest son and pupil of Francis Danby who specialised in sunsets and sunrises. He exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1842 to 1847 and also at the British Institution every year from 1847 until it closed in 1867. He also exhibited at the Suffolk Street Galleries.
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George Chambers Junior (1830 - circa1900) Shipping and craft off Greenwich, oil painting. Chambers’ father, George, was a gifted maritime artist who probably taught him to paint. Born in London, he produced many pleasing oil sketches of the Thames and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and the British Institution.
34 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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George Chambers Junior (1830 - circa 1900) Greenwich from the north east, oil painting.
George Chambers Junior (1830 - circa 1900) Greenwich from the west, oil painting.
According to the donor who presented two watercolours by this artist to the National Maritime Museum in the 1970s, Chambers had given them to his father in settlement of a debt. His father knew Chambers when he was working as an engineer in Venezuela. He also claimed that Chambers later went to work in Trinidad where he was killed in a riot in 1900. The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 35
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Thomas Bush Hardy (1842-1897) Swim-headed Thames barge, spritsail barge, and brigantine off Greenwich, watercolour. Hardy is one of the most popular maritime water-colourists with collectors today. Born in Sheffield he was a prolific artist, and capable of highly atmospheric work of great delicacy, and charm. Later in life his addiction to drink resulted in works of variable quality.
36 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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Thomas Bush Hardy (1842-1897) Greenwich Pier, watercolour. The artist was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1884. Hardy travelled extensively in Europe, especially in France, Holland and Italy. Among his finest works are his small-scale scenes of Venice. He is represented in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Maritime Museum.
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Willem Dommershuizen (circa 1850-1927) Sail and Steam vessels off Greenwich, oil painting. Dommershuizen was born in Utrecht into a family of marine artists. The family moved to England and later anglicized their surname to Dommersen. His father, Pieter Cornelis, may well have taught him to paint and they travelled together to seek out subjects in Holland, Belgium, France and Italy, as well as England.
38 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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Frederick A Winkfield (active 1873-1904) Greenwich Hospital from the Isle of Dogs, oil painting. Winkfield painted many views of the River Thames in a semi-photographic style. Originally from Manchester he moved to Fulham in London. He exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Suffolk Street Galleries, the New Watercolour Society, the Dudley Gallery and the Institute of Oil Painters.
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William Collingwood (1819-1903) Greenwich Market (to the right) and the entrance to Greenwich Hospital, watercolour. Collingwood was born in Greenwich. His father was an architect who encouraged his interest in art. He was mainly a landscape painter. Collingwood studied under J D Harding and Samuel Prout and exhibited at all the leading venues, including the Royal Academy of Arts. He became popularly known for his Alpine subjects. This watercolour portrays the short-lived classical faรงade of Greenwich market, the gates (globes on stone plinths) of Greenwich Hospital in their original position, and behind the trees to the left a building called the Chest House used for accommodation for naval officers. This building was built around 1805 and demolished in 1855.
40 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901. Greenwich from the River Thames
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William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Pensioners
Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867) Greenwich Pensioners and visitors to Greenwich Hospital, watercolour. An illustration for Poor Jack (1840), sea stories by Captain Frederick Marryat. Stanfield was born in Sunderland. During a visit to London in 1812 he was pressed into the Navy where his talents as a self-taught painter were noticed and encouraged. He became a scene-painter in London theatres, a prolific illustrator, and a successful painter of marines and landscapes. In 1835 he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts, where he was a regular exhibiter. Ruskin regarded him as a close rival to Turner. The scene shown in this watercolour shows Jack and his father meeting Sir Hercules. The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 41
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Attributed to James Holland (1799-1870) Greenwich Hospital, oil painting. In the centre foreground the man with the wooden leg is Admiral Sir James Alexander Gordon (1782-1869) who was governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1853-1869. He rose to become Admiral of the Fleet in 1868. James Holland (1799-1870) Visitors to the King William Court, Greenwich Hospital, watercolour.
Holland was a painter and water-colourist of landscapes and continental views, especially Venice. Born in Burlsem, Staffordshire he was taught by his mother to paint flowers on porcelain but later specialised in landscape. He travelled extensively and exhibited at many venues in London. Holland created a series of paintings of Greenwich Hospital.
42 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830 - 1901. Greenwich Pensioners
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British School (19th Century) Greenwich Pensioners: With a view of the Hospital, which was founded in 1694 by King William & Queen Mary, for the use of the disabled seamen & the widows and children of such as were slain at sea, hand-coloured etching, printed and sold by W.Belch. W.Belch was a London engraver who produced many topographical engravings of British landmarks, in addition to handwriting broadsheets. His work can be found in the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery, London.
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Circle of James Holland (1799-1870) The entrance to the Painted Hall, watercolour.
Holland was a painter and water-colourist of landscapes and continental views, especially Venice. Born in Burlsem, Staffordshire he was taught by his mother to paint flowers on porcelain but later specialised in landscape. He travelled extensively and exhibited at many venues in London. Holland created a series of paintings of Greenwich Hospital.
44 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830 - 1901. Greenwich Pensioners
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John Burnet (circa 1781-1868) Portrait of a Greenwich Pensioner, oil painting. Burnet was a Scottish painter and engraver. Born in Edinburgh he trained at the Trustees’ Academy and later moved to London. He engraved many of Sir David Wilkie’s paintings. Several examples of his portraits of Greenwich Pensioners are now in the National Maritime Museum.
Henry Dawe (1790-1848) Portrait of a Greenwich Pensioner, hand-coloured aquatint, published Kentish Town , December 1st, 1834
British School (18th century) The Greenwich Pensioner, handcoloured mezzotint, published 22 March 1791 by Robert Sayer, No 53 Fleet Street, London. The song is from Charles Didbin the Elder's 'Twas in the Good Ship Rover. Didin (1745-1814) was a popular British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter.
After Michael W Sharp (died 1840) The Greenwich Pensioner, steel-engraving by J. Jenkins. The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 45
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William Havell (1782-1857) Greenwich Park, watercolour. Havell was the son of a drawing master at Reading Grammar School. He moved to London in 1804 and became a foundation member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours, although he also painted in oils. Havell was briefly appointed as an official artist to Lord Amherst’s embassy to Peking in 1816, and then left for India where he lived for nine years. He returned to England and died in poverty.
46 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830 - 1901. Greenwich Pensioners
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William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory
Anthony Vandyck Copley Fielding (1787-1855) Greenwich Park, watercolour. Fielding studied under his father, and John Varley. He was a fashionable drawing master and an award winning marine and landscape painter in oils and watercolour, championed by John Ruskin. In 1810 he started to exhibit at the Royal Watercolour Society and would often send in forty or fifty a year. He became a full member of this society in 1813, secretary in the same year, and president from 1831 to his death. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts.
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British School (19th century) The West Front of the Ruins of the late Sir Gregory Page’s Seat, Blackheath, hand-coloured etching with aquatint. The Page family were successful merchants who had close links with shipping companies. Sir Gregory Page (circa 1695-1775) inherited a fortune in South Sea Stock and sold before the “bubble bust”. Page invested the money in property and built a large manor house in Westcombe Park, north of Blackheath, close to Greenwich. But he wanted a more lavish house and bought a huge mansion at Wricklemarsh nearby.
48 | William IV to Queen Victoria 1830 - 1901. Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory
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British School (19th century) The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, oil painting. King Charles II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to construct the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to solve the problem of establishing longitude at sea. It was completed in 1675. The first director (and hence astronomer royal) was John Flamsteed (1646-1719).
Alfred Fontville de Breanski (1877-1945) Royal Observatory, Greenwich, oil painting. Alfred Fontville de Breanksi was one of seven children of the artist Alfred de Breanski (18521928). His paintings are similar in style to his father but less formal and often more colourful. He exhibited several works at the Society of British Artists and Royal Academy of Arts.
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Thomas Shotter Boys (1803-1874) St. Alfege’s Church, Greenwich, watercolour.
James Holland (1799-1870) View of Greenwich through the Park, watercolour.
Boys was a watercolourist and lithographer popularly known for his architectural views of London and Paris. For a time he worked with Richard Parkes Bonington in Paris. He produced landscapes and figure subjects but was affected by ill-health in the 1840s.
Holland was a painter and water-colourist of landscapes and continental views, especially Venice. Born in Burlsem, Staffordshire he was taught by his mother to paint flowers on porcelain but later specialised in landscape. He travelled extensively and exhibited at many venues in London. Holland created a series of paintings of Greenwich Hospital.
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H L Penfold (active 1860s-1910) A stroll through Greenwich Park, oil painting. Little is known of the artist Penfold. In this picture he has portrayed an elegant Victorian lady walking through Greenwich Park, with parasol in hand. The composition has convincing detail and great charm. The Red and Fallow deer can still be found in the Park in an enclosure of the historic Park called the Wilderness The Spread Eagle Art Collection | 51
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British School (19th century) The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, oil painting. This charming late Victorian painting reveals the excitement of visitors to Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory. The elegant and fashionable folk are contrasted with the smoking chimneys of industrial London clearly visible below.
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Charles F Buckley (1812-1869) Greenwich Park, watercolour and bodycolour. Buckley was a London painter of historical subjects in oils and watercolour. His subjects included views of Richmond, Greenwich, and depictions of visitors to the Great Exhibition 1851. He exhibited at the British institution and the Suffolk Street Galleries. Examples of his work can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Maritime Museum.
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Gustave de Breanski (circa 1856-1898) Greenwich from the east, oil painting. Gustave painted landscapes and marines. He, like his older brother Alfred, was a prolific painter. All seven of his Royal Academy of Arts exhibits between 1878 and 1887 were maritime subjects. Gustave’s style was much looser than his brother, and he often featured fishing boats and other working craft. He also exhibited at the Suffolk Street Galleries.
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William IV to Queen Victoria 1830-1901 Greenwich Views from the East Charles Edward Dixon (1872-1934) The Trafalgar Tavern and Greenwich Hospital from the River Thames, watercolour.
Charles Dixon (1872-1934) The Trafalgar Tavern and Greenwich Hospital from the River Thames, watercolour.
Dixon excelled as a water-colourist and was well known for his depictions of the Thames bustling with the traffic of merchant ships, liners, tugs, yachts and barges. He started as an illustrator, and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1889, as well as the New Watercolour Society. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours.
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John O’Connor (1830-1889) Trafalgar Tavern, oil painting. O’Connor was an Irish topographical painter and water-colourist. He worked as a theatrical scenery painter in Belfast and Dublin. He arrived in London in 1848, where he continued as a scene painter. In the 1850s he exhibited topographical views at the Royal Academy of Arts, and elsewhere. He was a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, in Dublin, and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour.
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James Tissot (1836-1902) Trafalgar Tavern, drypoint engraving [first state]. Born in Nantes, Tissot studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and began to exhibit at the Paris Salon from 1859. His early work showed the influence of the French Impressionists. Tissot arrived in London in 1871, and painted modern subjects including several related to the River Thames. He was one of many distinguished visitors to the Trafalgar Tavern.
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British School (19th century). Greenwich from the River Thames from the east, oil painting. This extraordinary oil composition is by an artist who almost certainly had never visited Greenwich. The arrangement of the buildings and curious perspective reveals a composition that combines some fact with a lot of fantasy. The identity of the prominent tower with spire (perhaps a church), with an unidentified flag, remains a mystery.
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Eugene Lami (1800-1890) Trafalgar Hotel, Greenwich, watercolour. Lami studied with Horace Vernet and Baron Antoine-Jean Gros at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. R P Bonington taught him to paint in watercolours. He initially worked as a printmaker, and his military subjects were popular at the French court. Louis-Philippe commissioned him to create a series of paintings for Versailles. Lami was a founding member of the Society of French Water-colourists.
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Charles John de Lacey (circa 1860-1936) Sail and steam vessels off Greenwich, oil painting. Lacey was born in Sunderland. He was originally trained as an engineer and served in the army and navy. Lacey trained as an artist at Lambeth, South Kensington and the National Gallery. He worked as an illustrator for the weeklies such as the Illustrated London News before becoming a fulltime marine artist.
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Charles John de Lacey (circa 1860-1936) Tugs, barges, lighters and merchantmen on the River Thames near Greenwich, oil on canvas, a pair.
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W L Wyllie (1851-1931) Greenwich Park with a view of the Queen’s House and the Royal Naval College.
Wyllie was born into a family of gifted artists. He studied at Heatherley’s Art School and the Royal Academy Schools. Wyllie was an illustrator, painter and printmaker, and although best known for his passionate interest in the sea and all its activities, he produced some very accomplished landscapes. W L Wyllie (1851-1931) Greenwich Park with a view of London, etching and drypoint.
The artist exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and became a full member in 1909. Wyllie’s painting of 1883 of the Thames at Greenwich, entitled Toil, Glitter, Grime and Wealth on a Flowing Tide, was purchased for the Chantrey Bequest and now hangs in Tate Britain. His celebrated panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar can be seen at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.
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Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) The Ship Tavern, pen, ink and wash. An illustration for Yeats’ publication Sailing, Sailing Swiftly [1933]. No doubt taught by his father - the artist John Butler Yeats, Jack became the most important Irish artist of the 20th century. He was also an illustrator, theatre designer and writer. His early style was illustrational but later he developed into an Expressionist artist. Yeats was elected a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1916. The popular 19th century Ship Tavern was located where Cutty Sark is dry-docked today. The Ship Tavern was destroyed during World War II.
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Charles Edward Dixon (1872-1934) Off Greenwich, watercolour. Dixon excelled as a water-colourist and was well known for his depictions of the Thames bustling with the traffic of merchant ships, liners, tugs, yachts and barges. He started as an illustrator, and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1889, as well as the New Watercolour Society. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours.
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Frederick E J Goff (1855-1931) Off Greenwich, watercolour. Goff was a London based topographical painter, mostly in watercolour. He exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and the New Watercolour Society. He is best known for his small detailed views.
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William Monk (1863-1937) View of the training ship Fame in front of the Queen’s House, Greenwich, etching. Monk painted landscape and architectural subjects and was a prolific printmaker. He exhibited seventeen works at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1894-1904.
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Max R. Hofler (1892-1963) The Queen’s House and Royal Naval College from Greenwich Park, oil painting. Hofler was an architectural and landscape painter. He travelled extensively in England and also in Europe, especially in France. Hofler exhibited from an address in Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex. He exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
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Sir Frank Short (1857-1945) Greenwich from the Park, etching with drypoint. Short studied at art colleges in South Kensington and Westminster after abandoning a career as an engineer. The artist was a prominent printmaker who advanced etching and engraving techniques. He exhibited in London from 1874.
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Percy Robertson (1869-circa 1940) Greenwich, dated 1926, etching with dry point. Robertson was a watercolour, landscape painter and etcher. Born in Ballagio, Italy he was taught by his artist father, Charles. He exhibited from 1885-1930 at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
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Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) Painting the figurehead, grisaille painting. Brangwyn was born in Bruges, Belgium. He was taught by his father and also trained at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at William Morris’s workshops. He was a painter, etcher, potter and interior designer. Brangwyn is also celebrated for his large-scale frescoes for public buildings. From 1885 he exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, and became a full member of the Royal Academy in 1919.
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W L Wyllie (1851-1931) Sugar Boats unloading off Greenwich, etching and dry point. Wyllie was born into a family of gifted artists. He studied at Heatherley’s Art School and the Royal Academy Schools. Wyllie was an illustrator, painter and printmaker, although best known for his passionate interest in the sea and all its activities.
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Moya Cozens (1920-1990) Trade and Industry on the River Thames, mixed media. This picture, signed Cozens, is almost certainly by Moya Cozens. She studied at the Slade School of Art where she was awarded several prizes. She was a painter, printmaker and teacher who exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. This picture is a vivid reminder of what was once the busiest river in the world. However, since the development of container shipping in the 1950s only a small number of vessels can be seen in this waterway.
British School (20th Century) Lovell’s Wharf, oil painting. This wharf, located in east Greenwich, was once a hive of activity, with a ship and boat yard and busy lighter-men. Today it is desperately in need of re-development.
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John Randall Bratby (1928-1992) Sunflowers with a view of the Royal Naval College, oil painting.
John Randall Bratby (1928-1992) Lovell’s Wharf, East Greenwich, oil painting.
Bratby was a painter, writer and teacher who studied at the Kingston College of Art and later at the Royal College of Art. He worked in a harsh realistic style and was fascinated with social realism and the visual details of ordinary domestic life. This brought him into contact with like minded artists and the critics dubbed them “the kitchen sink school”. His also painted cityscapes notable for their bright colours and economy of line.
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John Randall Bratby (1928-1992) Table cloth doodles from The Spread Eagle Restaurant, graphite. These doodles reveal a whimsical and melancholic side to the artist’s state of mind. One reads: “I do not eat because I live on Philosophy & Faith and Belief in the mind & I am Happy And I do not need Younger Persons. I am self-sufficient”.
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John Randall Bratby (1928-1992) Portrait of Richard F [Dick] Moy, oil painting.
John Randall Bratby (1928-1992) Portrait of Richard F (Dick) Moy with family members, oil painting.
The artist was a friend of Dick Moy, the former owner of The Spread Eagle. Moy commissioned him to produce menu designs, often in exchange for food and drink. In one ten year period Bratby persuaded some 1000 people to sit for portraits. In 1956 he was chosen to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale.
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Betty Swanwick (1915-1989) Menu designs for The Spread Eagle restaurant, pen and ink. Swanwick worked as a painter, designer, illustrator and teacher after studying at several art schools, including Goldsmith’s College of Art. She was a popular exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Arts, and was elected a full member in 1979. She produced bizarre and mystical designs inspired by Renaissance artists and William Blake. Her quirky style was ideal to produce eye-catching menu designs for Dick Moy’s restaurant.
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Anthony Gross (1895-1984) Greenwich Mean Time, etching and photogravure, edition 7/75. Gross was born in Dulwich. He studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art and printmaking in Paris. He settled in France and made several cartoon films. Gross also worked with the celebrated film director Alexander Korda during the Second World War. Appointed an official war artist covering the campaigns in Africa, the Middle and Far East, he was with the Allied Troops on D-Day.
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Anthony Gross (1895-1984) Queen’s House, Greenwich, etching, edition 26/75. The artist divided his time between living and working in south-west France and London. The Victoria and Albert Museum held a large retrospective exhibition of his work in 1968. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1980. Gross wrote an influential book on printmaking entitled Etching, Engraving and Intaglio Printing.
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John Sutton (1935- ) Cutty Sark being towed off Greenwich, oil painting. Sutton specialises in marine paintings and London street scenes. Born in Norfolk, he studied at the art schools of Norwich and Brighton College. He returned to “Nelson’s county” where he lives and works. Sutton undertakes detailed research for each artwork. Whenever possible he makes on-the-spot sketches, and then works-up the finished painting in his studio in a manner reminiscent of the 17th century Dutch Masters.
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Acknowledgements The Spread Eagle Art Collection Catalogue has been compiled by James Taylor, a former curator of paintings, drawings and prints, at the National Maritime Museum, with assistance from Dr Pieter van der Merwe. The print and publishing work was provided by Windsor Print Production Ltd of Tonbridge in Kent. The catalogue has been designed as a lively pictorial souvenir featuring a diverse range of Greenwich related images. Dimensions of the artworks are not given. However, if you are particularly interested in the size of a specific picture, please write with your request to Greenwich-Inc, 17, Nelson Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9JB.
Peter Kent (b. 1933-) Trafalgar Tavern, pen, ink and wash. Kent is one of Britain’s leading British topographical artists. His vibrant graphic style is easily recognisable. He draws inspiration from his Thames-side home in Greenwich. Kent has illustrated numerous books on river life, as well as historic churches and the City of London.
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