Historical information

John Webster Lawson was born in Sheffield, England in 1855. HE travelled Europe as a young man where he studies art in Paris under Ferdinand Cormon. He arrived in Australia in 1895. His first job in the arts was designing theatre sets for James Cassius Williamson whose theatrical management company was described in its heyday as the largest theatrical firm in the world.
Lawson went on to open an art school in Nhill where one of his pupils was Percy Leason.
Lawson died in Sale in 1941.

Physical description

Oil painting in a gold coloured timber frame. The painting depicts a coastal scene. To the fore of the painting is a wrecked timber dinghy boat on the sand. It is falling apart. To the right of the boat are large rocks, to the left is the sea. There are sailing boats on the sea and the coastline stretches into the horizon. There are cliffs running along the edge of the sea. The sky is blue with white fluffy clouds.

Inscriptions & markings

Signed bottom right