LT. COL. WILLIAM GODFREY RAYSON MASTERS (BRITISH C.1823-1895)
NEAR NAM TAU
Estimate: £300 - £500
Auction: 25 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
Signed lower right, inscribed with title lower centre, watercolour and pencil
Dimensions
15.25cm x 24cm (6.25in x 9.5in)
Provenance
Frank J. Sabin Limited, London, 1972
Footnote
This watercolour is accompanied by a letter from Pamela Drake of Frank T. Sabin Ltd which details the following biographical information about the artist:
'William Godfrey Rayson Masters served as Captain Royal Marine Light Infantry during the Chinese Expedition under the command of Rear-Admiral Hope 1859-60.
He was seriously wounded during the attempt to storm the forts at the entrance to the Pei-Ho River in June 1859 and was mentioned in despatches by the Commander-In-Chief. The forts were eventually taken in August 1860 and the combined English and French force entered Tientsin.
H.M.S. Chesapeake 51 guns was the flaghip of the expedition.'
Several examples of W. G. R. Masters' work are held in the Government Art Collection. An amateur artist, Masters served in the Royal Marines where he progressed steadily through the ranks, becoming a Second Lieutenant in 1842, First Lieutenant in 1846, Captain in 1854, Major in 1860, and Lieutenant Colonel in 1871. He may be the ‘W. Masters’ who exhibited one painting, titled ‘On the River Thames’, at the Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, in 1866, whose address was then listed as No. 3 Edward Street, Blackfriars.