Thomas Luny

Thomas Luny (1759–1837), was an English artist who primarily painted seascapes and other marine-based works.

Biography

Luny was born in

Old Gravel Lane

.

In September 1777, Luny left Holman's studio for a while, to journey to France. During this particular expedition, Luny almost certainly strayed from France itself; his first exhibited picture in London, seen at the Society of Artists that same year, was given the title A distant view of the island of Madeira and Porto Santo, suggesting that an engraving had inspired his choice of subject. Similarly, it is unlikely that Luny was on hand for the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and the bombardment of Algiers in 1816, both of which he illustrated with dramatic atmosphere and credible realism.

Luny left Holman's studio in 1780 and would later move to

British East India Company had their headquarters; their officers commissioned many paintings and portraits from Luny. This relationship between the Company and Luny also had several non-monetary benefits for Luny; it seems probable that, considering the great detail and realistic look of many of his sketches of locations such as Naples, Gibraltar, and Charleston, South Carolina, Luny was occasionally invited as a guest on the company's ships on special occasions and voyages.^[1]

Several years later, in 1807, Luny decided to move again, this time to Teignmouth in Devon. There he received a number of commissions (mostly from ex-mariners, local gentry, and the like), and he continued to be as successful in his work as he had been in London. Luny was by that time suffering with arthritis in both of his hands. This had no obvious impact on the quality or pace of his artistic work. In fact, of his lifetime oeuvre of over 3,000 works, over 2,200 were produced between 1807 and his death.^[2] He died on 30 September 1837.

Thomas Luny was buried in the graveyard of St James' Church, the parish church of Teignmouth, alongside his half-brother Captain James Wallace, who had fought at the Battle of Copenhagen under Nelson's command.^[3]

Specimens of his work are exhibited at the

Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia

.