Oil Portrait of Royal Navy Midshipman by Samuel Harry Hancock (1871-1932)

We are pleased to offer this very interesting portrait of a young Midshipman in the Royal Navy in uniform, who is standing on the castellated battlements of a castle overlooking the sea, with a warship in the distance. We think it is possible that the location is Dover Castle and the warship is steaming through the Channel. The painting is signed by the artist S. H.Hancock in the lower right hand corner and dated 1916, two years into WWI. The Midshipman is wearing his dress uniform of the period with wing collar and tie, waistcoat with brass buttons and matching buttoned jacket, with the white patch on the collar. The portrait was obviously painted during the winter months, as he is wearing a black cover, rather than the white cover of the summer months. This was the norm in the Navy until 1956, after which white covers were worn at all times. Samuel Harry Hancock (1871–1932), widely known as "The Painting Postman" or the "London Postman Artist," was an English landscape and social realist painter who famously balanced his artistic passion with a full-time career delivering mail. Born in Bishopsgate, London, the son of William and Ellen Hancock, Hancock was a true Cockney who lived and worked within sight of St. Paul's Cathedral. For over twenty years, he was employed as a postman at the East Central Office of the General Post Office (GPO) in London, officially designated in postal circles as "E.C. 447". Despite having no formal training at elite art schools and having never traveled outside of England, he spent every spare hour away from his demanding postal rounds sketching and painting. He did, however, take evening classes at Birkbeck College and City & Guilds School. He was also founder (in April 1925) and president of the Ilford Art Society.. His raw talent and dedication eventually earned him remarkable mainstream validation when 5 of his oil paintings were accepted and exhibited at the prestigious Royal Academy. He also exhibited at The Arlington Gallery (73 works) and the London Salon (3). He exhibited between Hancock’s art typically fell into two categories: atmospheric London landscapes and poignant political/social commentary. Some of his most recognized pieces include: Landlord and Tenants (c. 1920): Held by the People's History Museum, this social realist piece starkly depicts a top-hatted "Capitalist," a working-class man, and his distraught wife. Industrial chimneys loom in the background with wooden crosses visible to the right. A Postman of the City of London (1911): A piece celebrating his own profession, which has been featured by The Postal Museum. London Cityscapes: He frequently captured the industrial and historical essence of London in paintings such as The Lights of London, Cannon Street Station (c. 1924), Bunhill Row, Near Brewers' Quay, and Tudor House, Great St Helen's. Many of these are preserved today in the Guildhall Art Gallery. Hancock was also a key figure in the GPO Arts Club, an organization of postal workers who created art, where he famously exhibited 12 of his pictures during their 1912 exhibition in St. Martin's Lane. Today, his story stands as a celebrated example of natural working-class talent breaking into the traditional British art establishment. There are nine of his paintings in the National Collection, which can be viewed at artUK.org. On a personal front, Samuel married Ellen Jane Honour 1874-1965 and they had two sons, William Morris Hancock 1901-1961 and John Alan Hancock born 1904. They lived in Shoreditch in 1901, llford, Essex in 1911 and Samuel died in Romford in 1932 at the age of 61. He was exhibiting up to his death. FRAME: The painting is framed in a very nice 3 3/4 inch gilt swept frame and slip. It will be supplied with new brass hangers, new brass picture wire and will be ready to hang. MEDIUM : Oils on canvas CONDITION Very good. There are no repairs to the canvas, which is clean and taut. There is no craquelure. DELIVERY UK Mainland £95 / Scotland £125 Worldwide: EU £400 / USA £500 TELEPHONE ENQUIRIES : 07765 856171 Quote Tef 0956