Whitby art and Staithes group to go under hammer

George Chambers Senior, son of a mariner, was born in 1803 in Whitby.

Following in his father’s footsteps, at the age of 10 George went to work on his uncle’s trade vessel.

Chambers returned to Whitby and took on an apprenticeship as a painter of houses and ships, taking drawing lessons in his spare time.

Working in oil and watercolour paints, Chambers built up his reputation as a marine painter and went on to show his works at the Royal Academy, British Institution and Society of British Artists.

His paintings can be found in the collections of the National Maritime and V&A museums.

His sons George Chambers Junior and William Henry Chambers both went on to be marine painters.

Chambers Senior’s work has achieved high prices in recent years with the oil Trading brigs heading into Whitby on the tide selling for £30,000 in 2010.

Work by other local artists will also feature in the auction, including Staithes Group artist Harold Knight (1874-1961) whose works don’t often come up for auction, 10 works by George and Mary Weatherill and a pair of Whitby views by Henry Redmore.

The auction starts at 11am.