Charles de Lacy
Charles John de Lacy (1856 – 13 December 1929) was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period. He was especially known for his warship imagery and was regularly commissioned by Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipbuilder W. G. Armstrong Whitworth. • Illustration — Minas Geraes (1908)
Also recorded as C. Delacy · Charles John de Lacy · Charles John DeLacy · Charles John De Lacey
Charles de Lacy

Charles de Lacy · Bonhams · Public domain
- Name
- Charles de Lacy
- Birth Name
- Charles John de Lacy
- Born
- 1856
- Birthplace
- Sunderland, County Durham
- Died
- 13 December 1929 (aged 73)
- Place of death
- Epsom, Surrey
- Known for
- Marine art
- Training
- The National Gallery Charles John de Lacy (1856 – 13 December 1929) was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Charles John de Lacy (1856 – 13 December 1929) was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period. He was especially known for his warship imagery and was regularly commissioned by Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipbuilder W. G. Armstrong Whitworth. • Illustration — Minas Geraes (1908)
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identity unresolved · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- unresolved
- Independent source families
- 0
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Authority files
wikidata · Q13471445 · wikipedia · Charles de Lacy
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is marine art. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are marine. Work by Charles de Lacy is recorded in the collections of Royal Museums Greenwich, Cowes Maritime Museum, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Orleans House Gallery and Guildhall Museum, Rochester.
• Name — Charles de Lacy • Birth Name — Charles John de Lacy • Born — 1856 • Birthplace — Sunderland, County Durham • Died — 13 December 1929 (aged 73) • Place of death — Epsom, Surrey • Known for — Marine art • Training — The National Gallery Charles John de Lacy (1856 – 13 December 1929) was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period. He was especially known for his warship imagery and was regularly commissioned by Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipbuilder W. G. Armstrong Whitworth. • Illustration — Minas Geraes (1908)
Life
Life
Son of Robert de Lacy, a professor of music, and his wife Eliza, Charles de Lacy was born in 1856 in Sunderland, County Durham, and grew up in the Bishopwearmouth area of the city. Although he would do much work in that area, by 1870 his family had relocated from the North East of England to Lambeth in London. While in Lambeth he married Alice Harriet Hill in 1880 and they had two daughters, Constance Rosamond De Lacy (b. 1881) and Irene Valerie Cristoforo De Lacy (b. 1901). In the matter of his death 1936 is often cited; however, the evidence suggests 1929 is correct. He died in Epsom, Surrey. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1889, having undertaken training at The National Gallery. Magazines such as The Illustrated London News were among early patrons. Sources vary regarding the correct spelling of the surname: "de Lacy" or "de Lacey". Three of the cited sources say "de Lacy" (including Art UK). The Royal Museums at Greenwich (including the National Maritime Museum) use both forms. In the 1911 census entry in his own hand is written Charles John De Lacy and he says of himself "Artist, Painter and Press artist".
Individual notable works
Individual notable works
• The Battle Against the Spanish Armada • The Kinfauns Castle as a Troopship (National Maritime Museum) • HMS Vindictive Storming Zeebrugge Mole (during the Zeebrugge Raid) which hangs in the Britannia Royal Naval College. • The Sinking of the Lusitania • "The Funeral of queen Victoria" Porthmouth 1st February 1901 Much of his work was done as book illustration or as commercial art for shipbuilders. Amongst major publishing names who used his material were Frederick Warne & Co, Thomas Nelson, Cassell, Methuen Publishing and S.P.C.K. • Illustration — Mist in port, London (1881)
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Sunderland.
Birth place
Epsom.
Death place
Selected public collections holding de Lacy material
• The National Maritime Museum • Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums • Archive item 450/1 • Brazilean scout (2 images) • HMS Invincible (2 images) • Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes (2 images) • Argentine gunboat Parana • Argentine armoured gunboat Rosario • HMS Superb (3 images) • Archive item 696/7/15Elswick 1911 has been used as the cover of Armstrong's River Empire. Archives item 696/7/15 which also contains a De Lacy of the Chinese Chao Ho. • Elswick 1911 • Chao Ho • Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum • Cowes Maritime Museum

Charles de Lacy, Charles James De Lacy - Sunset, River Thames, 1884
Charles de Lacy · Bonhams

Charles de Lacy, Charles James De Lacy - Shipping on the Thames at dusk, 1883
Charles de Lacy · Bonhams
Citations
References
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reference work
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
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