A fine pair of seascape paintings of ships in a harbour at different times of the day by Adolphus Knell. The first shows sailing boats and a steam tug waiting for the wind to pick up as figures in a rowing boat cast their fishing nets out. The second painting depicts ships and a steam tug anchored in a harbour. As evening falls other boats make their way to shore.

Adolphus Knell was born on 22 March, 1849 in Kentish Town, London to the artist William Adolphus Knell (1801-1875) and Susannah Williams. His half-brother William Calcott Knell (1830-1880) was also an artist. He lived with his family at Green Lodge and then 3 York Place in Kentish Town. They later moved to 329 Kentish Town Road where his father kept a studio. His father taught him art and was a major influence in his style and subject matter. Knell would often assist him in his studio and they worked together until his father’s death. He also found work as a wood engraver but by the early 1870’s had become a full time artist.

He married Lucy Tucker on 10 April, 1873 at St John the Baptist Church in Kentish Town. The couple lived at 64 Falkland Road, Kentish Town and went on to have 3 children together. By 1891, he had moved closer to the Kent coast to live at 5 Vicarage Road, St Lawrence, near the busy port of Ramsgate. Knell seems to have travelled around painting the British coast and is known to have visited Cardiff in 1911. He is believed to have spent his later years living in Queen Square, Bath where he continued worked as an artist.

Like his father, Knell was known for painting marine scenes. Many his works featured boats bathed in moonlight or at dawn and tend to be on a smaller scale.

© Benton Fine Art