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Capture of the 'Gypsy', 30 April 1812

Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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Notes

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The ‘Gypsy’, an American schooner fitted out as a privateer, was on her way from New York to Bordeaux with a valuable cargo when she was captured in the mid-Atlantic after a three-day chase. In the left foreground is the ‘Belle Poule’, starboard broadside view. To the right and beyond, off her port bow is the ‘Gypsy’, still firing at the ‘Belle Poule’, but with her ensign being struck at the same time. In the right background is the ‘Hermes’, port bow view. For dramatic effect the artist has set the scene of the chase in a stormy setting with dark clouds and waves. Thomas Butterworth, to whom this painting has been (somewhat optimistically) attributed, was born on the Isle of Wight on 5 May 1768. Like many other marine painters, Buttersworth was a seaman who recorded his experiences in paint and charcoal.

National Maritime Museum

London

Title

Capture of the 'Gypsy', 30 April 1812

Date

early 19th C

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 45.8 x W 61.7 cm

Accession number

BHC0597

Work type

Painting

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National Maritime Museum

Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England

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