This mid-19th-century oil painting by British artist Richard Ball Spencer (1812-1897) depicts the brig ‘Era’ before the iconic white cliffs of Dover. Spencer was a self-taught marine painter hailing from the east end of London.Built in Rochester, Kent, the era was a two-sail, square-rigged brig which traversed the seas until being wrecked off the coast of Easington in Durham in 1857. Her demise was reported extensively in the press due to the gallantry of two hardy locals who put their own lives in peril when rescuing the crew. We’ve included a full report in our artist directory.Richard Ball Spencer lived, for most of his life, in Mile End Old Town, East London and often travelled to nearby ports in search of new commissions. He’s referred to as a ‘pierhead painter’, which is a term used to describe those who specialised in portraits of ships for the seaman travelling aboard them. It was far from a straightforward endeavour as each painting would require completion before the ...