Charles Brooking

1723-1759

British (London, England)

Charles Brooking was a British marine painter. Little is known of his short career, but he was the finest British marine painter of his day, equally adept at calm or rough seas. In his early years he was evidently employed in some capacity at Deptford dockyard and he had an intimate knowledge of the ships he painted. Brooking became much more widely known in 1754, when as a result of his “discovery” he was commissioned by the Foundling Hospital to paint what is now titled A Flagship Before the Wind Under Easy Sail, following which he was elected a Governor and Guardian of the institution.