The Barge

by Vic Ellis a Canvey Artist
By Janet Penn

Photo:Vic Ellis. Portrait by Harry Russell

Vic Ellis. Portrait by Harry Russell

Russell ©

Vic Ellis was a dental technician on Canvey Island and was given drawing and painting lessons by Harry Russell.

He become a successful commercial artist and a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and painted many shipping fleets for their owners and operators. A typical high quality painting of his 'Barge 'is shown below, from a photo given to Harry Russell by Bunty, Vic's wife, for Christmas 1984.

Vic lived out his final years in Leigh on Sea.

If you have any other information about Vic or any of his pictures please email in or comment below.

Photo: Illustrative image for the 'The Barge' page
This page was added by Janet Penn on 03/10/2009.

Comments about this page

Hi I have a Vic Ellis painting, he painted it for me. I lent him some photos of narrow boats and he painted for me it was of a pair of boats I used to know very well and the owner.
geoffrey

By geoffrey fitch
On 28/10/2009

Vic Ellis had a small studio near the bottom of Leigh Hill next to Oscars Restaurant. He was a very prolific painter and his oil paintings grace many private collections aound the world. He had a fine reputation amongt the cogniscenti, not so much for his draftmanship but for his fine sense of atmosphere: you could smell the sea in a Vic Ellis painting. Few since W L Wyllie have captured the Thames Estuary, it's shipping, character and light, as well as Vic Ellis. It's about time someone organised a retrospective exhibition and produced a book dedicated to his marine paintings. If we had an Art Gallery in Castle Point it would be a good project for them!

By David Hurrell
On 09/12/2009

Vic was my father's cousin; his widow, Bunty, died in October 2009.

By John Atkins
On 16/01/2010

Hello - I have a picture in a frame "Thames sailing Barge "MAY" built Harwich 1891 by Vic Ellis.
I do not know if it is a print - I have studied other Vic Ellis pictures but cannot find any information about this painting - can you help please - It was framed by CW Brown, Croydon.

By Anne
On 17/01/2010

I have in my care a double sided Vic Ellis painting - he was re-cycling earlier works I guess. The side framed for viewing as a scene of an estuary finely painted in greys and blues - water and sky colours - without a boat in sight. The reverse side has been left visible and is a strong painting of a ship in full sail on choppy waters, the oil paints having been applied with a palette knife. The contrast in the two styles and subject matter is most interesting. What versatility! The picture(s) measure 3 ft by 2 ft

By bridget
On 15/07/2010

Any chance you could photo the pictures and send them in?

By Janet Penn
On 15/07/2010

We were living in Bermuda in the 1970s and I spotted an ad. for 2 paintings of Thames Barges by Vic Ellis. As I was born in Gravesend I bought them and they have travelled the world with us. Now they are back in Kent and I decided to see what I could find out about the artist - so glad I did. No titles but I think one of them is the pool of London and the other a group of barges at the mouth of the river/open sea. RK

By Rosemary Kinnear
On 28/07/2010

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