Ernest Dade

Ernest Frederick Dade (1868–1935),^[1][2][3] later known as Ernst Dade, was an English painter,^[2] specialising in coastal and maritime subjects,^[2] and maker of model ships.^[4] He was a member of the Staithes group, based in the North Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes.^[4]

Ernest Dade
Born	Ernest Frederick Dade 1868[1] Kensington, England
Died	(1935-11-03)3 November 1935[1] London, England
Nationality	English
Other names	Ernst Dade
Alma mater	Académie Julian
Occupations	Painter Model-maker

Early life

Dade was born in Kensington, England,^[4] Dade's father, Frederick Dade (1836–1874),^[5] was a photographer,^[5] married to Matilda Toye (1835–1919) in 1859.^[5] Ernest had two older sisters and the family moved to Scarborough early in Ernest's life.^[4] He later had another two sisters and three brothers,^[5] one of whom, the youngest, Fred (1874–1908), was also a maritime artist.^[5]

His first job was as a deck-hand on the American yacht, Dauntless.^[4] In 1885–1886, he studied at Scarborough School of Art, under Albert Strange.^[6] From the age of twenty he studied at the Académie Julian in Paris.^[4] He later studied fresco and mural painting in the South of France.^[4]

Career

On the Fishing Grounds

Dade and Nelson Dawson rented studios at Manresa Road, Chelsea.^[4] By 1890, he was living at 8 West Bank, Seamer Road, Scarborough.^[4] In 1901, he became a founder member of the Staithes Art Club.^[4] After visiting Holland he began to use the first name 'Ernst'.^[4]

He exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists,^[4] the New English Art Club (of which he became a member in 1887^[7]), the Royal Academy (from 1887 to 1901),^[7] the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours,^[4] the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers,^[7] the Walker Art Gallery^[4] and the Staithes Art Club.^[4]

Personal life

Dade married Maud Alderson-Smith in St Martins Church, Scarborough in 1913.^[6] With her he returned to London where he had a studio at St John's Wood, sub-let in part to fellow Staithes Group members Laura and Harold Knight.^[6]

He was a member of the Society for Nautical Research.^[8] and wrote articles about boats and sailing, for their quarterly journal, The Mariner's Mirror.^[9] He was also a founder member and first Captain of the Scarborough Sailing Club, in 1895.^[6]

Dade died in London on 3 November 1935,^[3][6] and was survived by Maud.^[3]

Legacy

Sketch of small sailing craft and a square-rigger, from one of Dade's sketchbooks, at the National Maritime Museum

Institutions holding his work include the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum (which has his sketchbooks,^[10] and those of his brother Fred^[5]), Rotherham, Scarborough, and Whitby art galleries^[4] and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.^[11]

Bibliography

Book jacket from Sail and Oar

Books

• —— (1933). Sail and Oar. J M Dent and Sons Limited.
  • —— (1988). Sail and Oar. Ipswich Book Company. ISBN 978-1871696004. (Facsimile edition, with a Preface By Peter F. Anson)^[12]

Articles

• —— (January 1932). "Trawling Under Sail on the North East Coast". The Mariner's Mirror. 18 (4): 363–374. doi:10.1080/00253359.1932.10655670. (subscription required)
• —— (January 1933). "Old Yorkshire Yawls". The Mariner's Mirror. 19 (2): 182–195. doi:10.1080/00253359.1933.10655697. (subscription required)
• —— (January 1934). "The Cobbles". The Mariner's Mirror. 20 (2): 199–207. doi:10.1080/00253359.1934.10655749. (subscription required)

Further reading

• Peter Phillips (1993). The Staithes group. Phillips & Sons. ISBN 978-0-9521107-0-5.