Naval Art Gallery
Artist: Commander Joseph Daniels, USN

Commander Joseph F. Daniels, USN, was Rick Hepburn’s Grandfather and Scott, Samantha, and Eric’s Great-Grandfather. He was born on 27 July 1874 as the son of William Daniels, an US Navy sailor who served during the Civil War. Commander Daniels joined the Navy as a Seaman Recruit in 1891 and retired as a Navy Commander in 1922. Commander Daniels was too old to serve during World War II, so he chose to paint nautical paintings instead. His paintings focused on sailing warships. One painting was of the first ship he served on in 1891, the USS Portsmouth, a 22-gun Sloop of the Line. The Portsmouth was a famous ship whose crew captured the Presidio from Mexico in San Francisco in 1846. In some paintings, he included a self-portrait as a sailor aboard the ship. He had the sailor in his heart and had many images of them serving on ships with bare feet. His paintings are a testimony to where his heart truly was. Hepburn and Sons LLC has the honor to display many of his original works in our office in Manassas.