Charles John de Lacy was one of the foremost British marine artists of his period. He was especially known for his warship imagery and was regularly commissioned by Elswick, Tyne and Wear shipbuilder W. G. Armstrong Whitworth.

Son of Robert de Lacy, a professor of music, and his wife Eliza, Charles de Lacy was born in 1856 in Sunderland, County Durham, and grew up in the Bishopwearmouth area of the city. Although he would do much work in that area, by 1870 his family had relocated from the North East of England to Lambeth in London. While in Lambeth he married Alice Harriet Hill in 1880 and they had two daughters, Constance Rosamond De Lacy (b. 1881) and Irene Valerie Cristoforo De Lacy (b. 1901). In the matter of his death 1936 is often cited; however, the evidence suggests 1929 is correct. He died in Epsom, Surrey.

He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1889, having undertaken training at The National Gallery. Magazines such as The Illustrated London News were among early patrons.