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. 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
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- painter
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q13471445 · wikipedia · Charles de Lacy
In this article
Biography
Biography
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.

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
Key facts
Key facts
• 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
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
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Charles de Lacy, revision 1364707580 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Deaths. The Times. 1. 17 December 1929.
- 2.Charles J. de Lacy: Artist. Look and Learn History Picture Library. 27 June 2011.
- 3.Charles John de Lacy (1856 – c.1936). Ask Art.
- 4.22 February 2017. Charles John de Lacy.
- 5.Collections: HMS Vindictive at Zeebrugge, 23 April 1918. Royal Museums Greenwich.
- 6.1911 Charles De Lacy census return. Find my Past.
- 7.Your Paintings: The Kinfauns Castle as a Troopship. BBC.
- 8.Your Paintings: HMS Vindictive Storming Zeebrugge Mole. BBC.
- 9.The Sinking of the Lusitania. WikiGallery.
- 10.National Maritime Museum catalogue search results.
- 11.Royal Museums Greenwich search results.
- 12.Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. W G Armstrong Whitworth Launch Ephemera.
- 13.Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. Archive item 696/7/15.
- 14.Your Paintings: The Pool of London. BBC.
- 15.Your Paintings: The Destroyer Forester off Constantinople. BBC.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- Charles John de Lacy. WikiGallery.
- Archibald, Edward H H. Dictionary of Sea Painters. 1989. 1851490477.
- Keys, Richard E. Armstrong's River Empire: Tyne Shipyards that supplied the world. Tyne Bridge Publishing. cover, 37. 2010. 978-1-857951-48-6.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
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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