1797 when, at Locker's behest, Lemuel Francis Abbott came down to make the oil study on which all his Nelson portraits were based. These eventually numbered over forty. Locker was a noted patron of the arts, having a number of portraits painted, and supporting the careers of the likes of Abbott and Robert Cleveley. He was also the driving force behind the creation of a national gallery of maritime art, suggesting the Greenwich hospital '...should be appropriated to the service of a National Gallery of Marine Paintings, to commemorate the eminent services of the Royal Navy of England'. He died before his vision could be realised, but it was subsequently effected by his son, Edward Hawke Locker. References Sources William Locker's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Sharman, Victor T. Nelson's Hero. The Story of his 'Sea-Daddy' Captain William Locker. Pen & Sword Books Lrd, Barnsley, UK: 2005. 1731 births 1800 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel from London