George Godsell Thresher was a marine artist, as well as a calligrapher and teacher of drawing and painting. Thresher immigrated to New York City in 1806 and later worked in Philadelphia. He studied art in London and served in the Royal Navy. Thresher's later career took him first to Montreal in 1816, then to Halifax and Pictou in Nova Scotia, and in 1829 he settled in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In 1843, he was appointed deputy Colonial Secretary and Registrar of Deeds, a post he held until his death in 1857.