Shipping at sunset

Henry Dawson's (1811-1878) formal training as a painter was limited to twelve lessons from the landscape painter James Baker Pyne (1800-1870) in June 1838. Despite this, he enjoyed some early success in Nottingham, the city where he lived for most of his early life.

Dawson began to exhibit landscapes in London, at the Royal Academy from 1838 and the British Institution from 1841. In 1844 he moved to Liverpool and exhibited at the Liverpool Academy, becoming an associate in 1846 and a full member the following year. It was while he was in Liverpool that he started to produce the marine images which would become a staple of his out-put throughout his career.