As it says on the back cover, "Montague Dawson is considered by many to be the supreme maritime artist of the twntieth century." Well, I'm one of those who think that and this is a truly brilliant collection of his work.

This paperback version, published in 2004, updates a hardcover edition first released in 1993. It contains an introduction which describes Dawson's life, work and painting style, and then a collection of his paintings and sketches, including 57 colour reproductions, 21 monochrone ones and photographs, and 14 sketches. Most of these have some explanatory text attached describing the ships in the pictures, the historical scenes portrayed, or how Dawson came to paint them.

Several of the photographs show the artist with some of his most famous works and with people associated with the ships in them, including Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten and Sir Francis Chichester. The book concludes with a list stating which of Dawson's paintings had been reproduced (useful but very disappointing as some of the pictures of which I would most like to buy a print do not ever appear to have been published in that form.)

Rather than concentrate on the best known of Dawson's paintings, Ranson has included many which are equally brilliant but not as famous. Many of these deserve to reach a wider audience.

I have appreciated Dawson's paintings for a long time, but I didn't know anything about the man who painted them until I read this book: I value it almost as much for what it told me about this remarkable artist as for the beautiful pictures it contains. At one time he was said to be the second best remunerated artist in the world (after Picasso) and the pictures in thes book show you why.

Ron Ranson's book is an absolute must for anyone who collects or enjoys pictures of ships and the sea: it will appeal to many others who enjoy looking at beautiful things.

If you enjoy this book, another work that you might appreciate is "The Marine Paintings of Geoff Hunt" and vice versa. However, I cannot pretend that the two books are on quite the same level. Hunt is brilliant: Montague Dawson was the master.

British artist Montague Dawson had a long career as one of the world's leading marine artists from the first world war till his death in 1973. At his career's height in the 1960s and 70s he was paid as much as many leading UK industrialists for his work. Looking at this book it is easy to see why.

These paintings are the result of a master craftsman and his ships and surrounding ocean-scapes are full of life and colour. Even if you are not a big fan of ships, you will still be stunned a the quality and liveliness of the work in this book from an artist who bought ship "portraits" to a new level. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in ships, especially sailing ships, or artists who enjoy high quality "realistic" painting illustrated in full colour on a large scale.