Richard Spencer lived and worked in London during the 19th century, active from 1840 to 1874. He painted mainly naval items including ship portraits of sailing vessels and occasionally also of steamers. Richard Spencer produced a large number of ship portraits, mostly depicting British vessels, often set in the scene showing the white cliffs of Dover in the distance. His paintings can be found in a number of art galleries and museums including The National Museum in Greenwich, Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia and Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachussets.