(1775 - 1824)
Born in Chichester, Charles Martin Powell was a self-taught artist and was also employed for a time as a sailor. He painted chiefly Dutch style seascapes, including some historical scenes, on a small scale. Powell exhibited 22 works the Royal Academy and eleven at the British Institution in London. He lived at a series of London addresses including locations in Haymarket, Paddington and Soho. In August 1812, ‘The London Gazette’ records Powell as an inmate of the King’s Bench Prison, Southwark; presumably a penalty for unpaid debts. He died in poverty at about the age of 50, leaving a wife and eight children. Today, examples of his work are in the collections of Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
