Thomas Somerscales

Many of his landscapes evoke the region and many of his marine paintings feature notable events in Chilean naval history and have become patriotic national icons in that country.

Having caught a fever in Tahiti, he was subsequently invalided ashore at Valparaiso, Chile and discharged from the Royal Navy.

[1] He settled in Chile and from 1874 teaching at The Mackay School in Valparaíso he started working as a professional painter.

[3] Although he returned to Britain in 1892 and spent most of the following thirty-five years in his home country, he remains far better known in Chile (where his work is on display in several prestigious locations) than he is in the UK.

His life's work has been detailed in the book: "Thomas Somerscales, Marine Artist" by Alex A. Hurst.