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Richard Paton
Portrait of Paton byGilbert Stuart
Born	1717 London, England
Died	7 March 1791 (aged 73–74) London, England
Occupation	Painter

Richard Paton (1717 – 7 March 1791) was an English painter who specialised inmarine art.^[1]

Paton spent his artistic career inLondon, where he is said to have been born, although no record of his birthplace or parentage is known. He is said to have grown up in poverty, and he is described as "self-taught". Some critics have discerned an influence of the works ofSamuel Scott andCharles Brooking. According to an account by Harry Parker, inThe Mariner's Mirror,^[a] while Paton was begging onTower Hill, he attracted the attention ofAdmiral Sir Charles Knowles, who happened to be passing that way.Taking a fancy to the boy, he offered to take him to sea. Paton was assistant to the ship's painter on Knowles' ship. Paton gained knowledge in bothpainting andseamanship. In 1742, he started working at theExcise Office.

His first exhibition was in 1758 on the premises of the London-basedSociety of Artists, where he continued to exhibit up to 1770. TheRoyal Academy hosted his works between 1762 and 1780. Paton's specialities were marine and naval paintings. He painted naval actions of wars ongoing at the time of painting such as theSeven Years' War of 1756–1763 and later theAmerican Revolutionary War, as well as earlier events such as the battles of theWar of the Quadruple Alliance which took place when he was a baby. The paintings include many dramatic effects such as battles at night, the shooting of cannons and the effect ofbombardments.

Paton also painting civilian themes, such asmerchant ships becalmed. His "sublime depiction of the sky" was considered especially noteworthy. Prints of his works, made among others by French artistPierre-Charles Canot, made them widely known. Among his most well-known works is theAction Between theSerapis andBonhomme Richard, depicting the confrontation of the BritishCaptainRichard Pearson and the AmericanCaptainJohn Paul Jones, occurring on 23 September 1779, during theBattle of Flamborough Head off of theYorkshire coast. Although the battle ended with an American victory, the painting achieved success. This success was due in no small part to the prints published within a year of the battle byJames Fittler andDaniel Lerpinière, of which Paton's painting was included. The painting is in the museum of theUnited States Naval Academy atAnnapolis, Maryland.

• 
  The Capture of Port Louis, Cuba, 8 March 1748 (Date unknown)
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  A Royal Navy sloop, H.M.S. Greyhound, in action with two heavily-armed Spanish galleys (Date unknown)
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  The Battle of Quiberon Bay, 20 November 1759 (Date unknown)
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  The battle off Lagos, August 18, 1759 (1760)
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  Bombardment of the Morro Castle, Havana, 1 July 1762 (Date unknown)
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  The Battle of Cape Passaro, 11 August 1718 (1767)
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  Sir Charles Knowles's Engagement with the Spanish Fleet off Havana (1770)
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  The action between the Serapis, capt. Pearson, the Countess of Scarborough, and Paul Jones’s Squadron, 1780
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  The Moonlight Battle off Cape St Vincent, 16 January 1780 (c. 1782)
• 
  Relief of Gibraltar by Earl Howe, 11 October 1782 (c. 1783)

• List of British painters
• List of people from London

• Media related toRichard Paton at Wikimedia Commons

• 1717 births
• 1791 deaths
• 18th-century English male artists
• 18th-century English painters
• 18th-century war artists
• British marine artists
• British war artists
• English landscape painters
• English male painters
• Painters from London

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