Claude Muncaster RWS PRSMA

1903 - 1974

Born Grahame Hall, Claude Muncaster was the son of Oliver Hall RA. He had no formal art training but studied by copying landscapes under the direction of his father, launching his career as a landscape painter at the age of 15. He first exhibited, as Grahame Hall, at the Royal Academy in 1921, but the next year, to distinguish his exhibits from those of his father, he adopted the name of Claude Muncaster. He finally formally changed it by deed poll in 1947. Muncaster's first solo exhibition was at the Fine Art Society in 1926. He was elected to the Royal Watercolour Society in 1931 and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and later President from 1958-74. Muncaster made several sea voyages, writing and illustrating his experiences in Rolling Round the Horn, published in 1933. During World War II, he served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, advising on the camouflage of shipping. He exhibited extensively, and his work is held in galleries worldwide.