Collection: Roy Cross RSMA
Newly available paintings from the estate of one of the world's most accomplished marine artists.
"Roy transports us to a viewpoint from which we not only witness the moment visually but also hear the creaking of the timbers and feel the strain of the stays..." Malcolm Henderson, the Moss Collection, USA.
Paintings may be viewed in London or Wiltshire by arrangement; higher-resolution images are available on request.
Roy Cross died, aged 100, in April 2024.
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About Roy Cross
Roy Cross's interest in marine art began when accompanied his father on walks around the London docks, sketching the boats he had seen when returning home. Aged 15, he began to work for a Thameside shipping office. Here he saw Thames barges and the last of the sailing coasters, and thus in the 1930s was born his lasting love of sea and ships.
After training at the St. Martins School of Fine Art, Roy Cross's artistic career became established as an illustrator in numerous fields for journals and books. During the Second World War he illustrated air force maintenance books and pilots’ manuals, as well as publications such as 'Aeroplane' and 'Aviation Week'. His detailed drawing of the Gloster Meteor, Britain's first service jet fighter, took him eight weeks to create, was a yard in length, and became acknowledged as a masterpiece of this specialised branch of technical illustration. In addition, he exhibited his work at the Society of Aviation Artists, of which he is also a member.
After the war, Roy Cross produced illustrations for the tops of the Airfix model boxes which are remembered by generations of children today. However, as an illustrator, he felt restricted by the limiting factors of commercial art and longed for greater freedom of expression.
He decided thus to concentrate primarily on marine painting and he was immediately successful. Elected a Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 1977, his art covers clipper ships to Mississippi steamboats, warships to commercial steam vessels and Royal Yachts to Americas Cup contenders. The combination of research, the practical application of this knowledge and the love of his subjects has its rewards, as Roy Cross is considered by many to be one of the most accurate painters of historical marine vessels of all time.
In 2010 Roy was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace given his "outstanding services to art..."
Roy Cross's paintings are in the collections of: The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, The Constitution Museum Foundation, Boston; The Peabody Museum, Salem MA, and in private collections worldwide.
He died in April 2024, at the age of 100.
NB: Paintings listed at £0 are Price On Application
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HMS Kennington in the Solent, 1736 - Roy Cross RSMA
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Shannon off Boston Light - Roy Cross RSMA
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Pickle and Entreprenante patrolling off Cadiz before Trafalgar - Roy Cross RSMA
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Thermopylae, 1872 - Roy Cross RSMA
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HMS Mohawk - Roy Cross RSMA
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HMS Aimable off Antigua, 1795 - Roy Cross RSMA
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HM Schooner Grecian - Roy Cross RSMA
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Lord Cochrane's frigate HMS Pallas - Roy Cross RSMA
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The Royal Yacht Mary, 1660 - Roy Cross RSMA
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America's Cup 1876 - Roy Cross RSMA
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USS Constitution returning to Boston (original) - Roy Cross RSMA
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HMS Penguin - Roy Cross RSMA
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USS Constitution returning to Boston - Roy Cross RSMA
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Nelson in the Mediterranean - Roy Cross RSMA
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HMS Nymphe v. Cléopâtre - Roy Cross RSMA
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HMS Swift off Governor's Island, Boston, USA - 1778 - Roy Cross RSMA
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HM Brig Badger, c 1776 - Roy Cross RSMA
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Lord Cochrane's Brig Speedy - Roy Cross RSMA
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Blackwall Clipper Trafalgar - Roy Cross RSMA
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Clipper 'Reindeer' Old Boston - Roy Cross RSMA
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The Falmouth Packet Walsingham in the Fal - 1823 - Roy Cross RSMA
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The Clipper Ariel at Sunset - Roy Cross RSMA
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J Class Yachts - Roy Cross RSMA
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Merchant Ship 'Prudent' entering Harbour, 1800s - Roy Cross RSMA
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