Edward Duncan

Edward Duncan (1803–1882) was an English master painter, known for his watercolours of coastal views and shipping He was a member of the Royal Society of Watercolours and received Royal patronage from Queen Victoria

Edward Duncan was the son of Thomas Duncan (c1781-1841) and Peggy née Watson He was born on 21 October 1803 at St Pancras in London He was apprenticed to Robert Havell, the principal aquatint engraver of Audubon's Birds of America Duncan was thus afforded frequent opportunities of studying the works of Havell's brother, the watercolorist, William Havell These developed his taste for drawing and the use of colour

After tutelage under the Havell Brothers in London, Duncan started his own engraving studio, and primarily created print works for Fores of Piccadilly In 1826, a project to engrave maritime scenes, after paintings by William John Huggins (the official artist to the royal court of King William IV, and King George IV) are said to have sparked Duncan's interest in marine subjects

In about 1835 Duncan married Huggins' daughter Berthia (1811-1884) The couple had six sons and one daughter, Berth(e)a One of the sons was Walter Duncan, also a painter

The influences of both Havell and Huggins undoubtedly led to Duncan's long and successful career as one of Britain's foremost marine watercolorists

Edward Duncan was a painstaking artist with his preferred media In addition to his early training as an engraver, he was skilled in oils, lithography and etching Duncan's drawings comprise a wide range of subjects but his best known works depict coastal scenes with shipping and other marine craft

Duncan also specialised in landscapes of the southern counties, often populated with animals and farms In the face of the vogue for painting with body-colours, Duncan relied almost entirely on transparent colours His watercolours are amongst the most technically defined and detailed paintings of the period and are considered to have a breadth and fluidity that bespeak the earlier traditions of British watercolour

In 1833 he was elected a member of the New Society of Painters in Water-Colours, but he resigned in 1847 and, in 1849 was elected an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society (then, the Society of Painters in Water-Colours), and a full member in the following year

Between 1865 and his death in 1882 he spent almost every summer painting in the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea, painting the coastal scenes for which he became known

He died in Hampstead, London, on 11 April 1882 A sale of his works at Christie's in 1885 took three days; and a sale of 1887 lists nearly 2,000 of his sketches and paintings

Duncan was a prolific exhibitor of his works, showing more than 40 at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists, and including more than 500 watercolors and drawings within the shows of the Old and New Watercolor Societies during his career His works include;
• The Shipwreck 1859 • The Life-Boat 1860 • Blue Lights • Oyster Dredgers — Swansea Bay 1874 • Landing Fish on the Sands at Whitby • Fishing Boats making for the Harbour of Boulogne — early morning * Spithead from the Isle of Wight 1857

Works:
Opium ships at Lintin, China 1838 Hong Kong Maritime Museum
This painting shows three opium ships off Lintin Island in the mid-1820s To the right is one of the 'fast crabs' used to smuggle opium into the Pearl River Delta All the ships in this picture would have been seen by the Chinese authorities as sea bandits Lintin lay either in the 'outer sea' or on the 'sea frontier' where official Chinese control was weak That is why it was chosen as the rendezvous for smuggling

Whampoa in China 1835 Hong Kong Maritime Museum
This plate is most respectfully dedicated to the commanders and officers in the EI Company's service, and also to the commanders and officers of the ships trading to India

The view is taken from Danes Island, looking towards Canton, embracing Whampoa and Junk Rivers, and including the Whampoa pagoda and those near to Canton

Partridge Shooting 1830 Yale Center for British Art

Pheasant Shooting 1830 Yale Center for British Art
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