Pritchard, Zarh, 1866-1956

Exist Dates

March 26, 1866 - August 29, 1956

Biographical or Historical Note

Artist

Walter (Zarh) Pritchard was born in India and grew up in the UK. He lived briefly in Bishop, Calif., but returned to England at the onset of World War I. He was probably the first artist to paint underwater. He took his oil impregnated drawing paper (attached to a sheet of glass) and oil crayons to the bottom of the sea, off the coast of Tahiti around 1905. At first, Pritchard drew only as long as he could hold his breath, diving and surfacing repeatedly, but later he used a dive helmet, the air pumped from the surface. Curiously, many of the resulting paintings and drawings had a "dry" look. He himself remarked "There is no feeling of wetness when one is below the surface."

Sources

Library of Congress Name Authority File: nr00000439

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History

Related Resources

Walter (Zarh) Pritchard paintings
Thirteen oil paintings, 1914-1922. Repository: AMNH Special Collections, RF-93-Aa and RF-94-C. Each painting has unique Art Survey number.

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