ARTWORKS

HMS 'Pearl' and the 'Santa Monica', 14 September 1779

Thomas Whitcombe (c.1752–1824)

National Maritime Museum

HMS 'Pearl' and the 'Santa Monica', 14 September 1779

Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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Notes

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Shortly after commissioning the British ship ‘Pearl’ Captain George Montagu was cruising off Fayal in the Azores when early in the morning he saw and chased a sail. After several hours he was able to open fire and a two hour fight ensued. The other ship eventually struck and it turned out to be the Spanish frigate ‘Santa Monica’. Though the Spanish ship was less strongly armed, Montagu’s crew was very raw since only ten of the men having been in a man-of-war before.

In the painting, the ‘Pearl’ is in the centre foreground and is shown in the process of raking the ‘Santa Monica’ in the left of the picture. In the right distance are two more British frigates. The painting is signed ‘Tho. Whitcombe 1805’.

National Maritime Museum

London

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Title

HMS 'Pearl' and the 'Santa Monica', 14 September 1779

Date

1805

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 76.2 x W 122 cm

Accession number

BHC0700

Work type

Painting

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National Maritime Museum

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

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Artist or maker

Thomas Whitcombe

c.1752–1824

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