Hubert Thornley

19th Century seascape oil painting of shipping by moonlight on the Medway

C1880

Hubert Thornley was one of the pseudonyms of William Thornley, a painter of coastal scenes and marines who lived in Greenwich and for many years had a studio overlooking the Medway near Rochester in Kent. According to art historian Denys Brook-Hart, he was actually born Charles Thornley and exhibited under this name from an address in Paddington, London. Although called Charles, his best-known name was William Thornley. He would also exhibit and sell paintings under other variations of his name such as Hubert Thornley, William Anson Thornberry and William Anson. He was a prolific exhibitor with 53 works shown at the Royal Academy of Arts, and 82 at other venues. He also exhibited at the British Institute until its closure in 1867, and at The Royal Watercolour Society. Thornley's works are highly distinctive and finely detailed, often painted on a small scale. No matter what name he used, his works bear all the hallmarks of his artistry and masterful understanding of the moods of both weather and sea.