The Return, Saved from the Wreck by Thomas Brooks, Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862

The Return, Saved from the Wreck by Thomas Brooks, Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862 This oil painting, in its original ropework frame, has a very interesting exhibition history having featured in two important academic shows and then been taken on a tour around part of the country to raise funds for the RNLI. That the Lifeboat Institution should have been attracted to this painting is unsurprising as it is an unflinching portrayal of the bravery of the men and women involved in its operations at this point and the dangers they faced on a daily basis. Originally part of a pair with the other painting showing the departure of the lifeboat from St Ives harbour as is revealed by a newspaper account published in the Liverpool Mercury on the 25th of March 1870. The account reads as follows: ‘NATIONAL LIFEBOAT SCENES-Two paintings of a highly interesting order are now on exhibition in the gallery of Mr Rathbone, 30, Church Street, in this town, which cannot fail to be attractive in such a seaport as Liverpool. The paintings, which are entitled ‘Launching the lifeboat’ and ‘Saved from the wreck’, by Mr. T. Brooks, were both shown at the Royal Academy, and are now submitted to public inspection under the patronage of the National Lifeboat Institution. The other painting, ‘The Departure, Launching The Lifeboat’, is currently exhibited at Hull Museum. The paintings were also selected as subjects for a series of lithographs of popular paintings of the day executed by Frederick Hunter and published by Brooks and Sons in 1871. Thomas Brooks (1818-1892) produced several lifeboat- related scenes in his career including a celebrated image of Grace Darling. Born in Hull, he studied with Henry Perronet Briggs. Exhibitions: Exhibited at the Royal Academy 1862 Exhibited at the Society of Artists Exhibition in Leeds, 1862 Exhibited in Mr Dew’s Gallery, March 1870 32 Bath Street Leamington Spa (public admission to see the picture and its companion piece cost 6d) Exhibited later that same month in the Rathbone Gallery, 30 Church Street, in Liverpool. The same admission price was charged with all proceeds going to the RNLI Exhibited in April 1870 in John Wilson’s art gallery in Briggate, Leeds. The first exhibition held in the gallery.