James Webb

James Webb (1825–1895) was a British marine and coastal painter who was a prolific exhibitor at the Royal Academy and painted ports, harbours, and coastal scenery across Europe and the Near East. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy Schools and built a career producing atmospheric seascapes that depicted the ships and coastal architecture of many countries. His subjects ranged from Mont Saint-Michel (1873) and the Belgian cities of Dinant and Namur to Constantinople (1876), The Bay of Naples (1876), and the coasts of Spain. His paintings have an atmospheric grandeur in the tradition of earlier marine painters — Turner's influence is evident in his handling of light and water — combined with a documentary interest in the specific places he depicted. Men Must Work and Women Must Weep (1877), its title taken from Charles Kingsley's poem, is his most literary subject. He exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout his career and his paintings were popular with collectors who wanted souvenirs of European travel elevated to something more than mere topography.

Webb's marine paintings are atmospheric and confident, with a warm golden palette in the tradition of Dutch and British marine painting. His water is handled with conviction and his skies are often the most accomplished element of his canvases. He was skilled at conveying the specific qualities of different ports and coastal environments, from the misty coasts of northern France to the brilliant light of the Mediterranean.

Webb was a productive and popular marine painter who helped sustain the tradition of British coastal painting through the mid-to-late Victorian period. His extensive travels produced a wide-ranging visual record of European coastal scenery that served the expanding market for travel-inflected art among a mobile Victorian middle class.