Nicholas Matthews Condy

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Nicholas Matthews Condy, or Nicholas Condy the Younger (1816 – 20 May 1851) was a British maritime painter.

He was born in Union Street, Plymouth in 1816 to Nicholas Condy (1793–1857) and Ann Trevanion Condy (née Pyle; 1792–1860). His father was a painter of landscapes, and they are often confused for each other. He went to the Mount Radford School in Exeter and later studied under Reverend C. Thomas of Lew Trenchard. Intended for a career in the Army or Navy, he instead became a professional marine painter. His work attracted the early admiration of the Earl of Egremont, J M W Turner’s patron. Three of his sea-pieces were exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1842 to 1845, which gave hopes of his becoming a distinguished artist. He lived in Plymouth until his sudden and premature death at the Grove, Plymouth, on 20 May 1851, when aged only thirty-three. He left a widow, Flora Ross, the third daughter of Major John Lockhart Gallie, of the 28th Regiment.

Condy used a detailed knowledge of ships acquired in his home town to paint accurate ship portraits, and his native Devon countryside is featured in such paintings as ‘Ships off Devonport’ and ‘The Post Office Packet Shelldrake off Falmouth’ (both in the National Maritime Museum, London). He was a successful and established artist whose work is still sought after today.

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This article incorporates text from the Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900), a publication now in the public domain.