Oswald Walters Brierly (1817 - 1894)

Oswald Walters Brierly

Sir Oswald Walters Brierly was a British traveler, soldier and marine artist.

Brierly studied painting and naval architecture, rigging in depth; comprehending the intricacies of navigation, he traveled to Australia. There he became acquainted with whaling and created several paintings on the subject.

In 1850, at the invitation of Admiral of the British Royal Navy Sir Henry Keppel on his ship crossed the Pacific Ocean, circled South America and returned to England. Keppel's account of the voyage, published in 1853, included eight lithographs by Brierly, who on his return became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

In the Crimean War, Sir Oswald Brierly also served with Henry Keppel as an artist-observer on the warship HMS St Jean d'Acre, part of the Allied Baltic Fleet. The artist accompanied the royal family on a trip to Egypt in 1869. Brierly made many more voyages and created many watercolors on subjects related to the sea and ships.