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Notes
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A half-length seated portrait with his head to the left and body to the right, in purser's undress uniform of 1807–1825, with his fob seal visible on the left. Pursers were the naval warrant officers responsible for provisions and clothing. The sitter is at a table with paper and ink-pots containing quill pens and is holding an unfolded letter inscribed as addressed to him, 'Samuel Crowley, Esq HM Ship Windsor Castle, Palermo, P. Packet'. Crowley became a purser in 1779. Between 1805 and 1814 he was in the third-rate 'Windsor Castle', 74 guns. In 1807, under the command of Sir John Duckworth, she was at Palermo, Sicily, during an expedition to the Dardanelles, and Crowley's portrait was probably painted then by an artist based there. The general appearance suggests that the hand may have been Italian, but the very specific markings on the letter in particular, perhaps argue for a British artist working in Sicily, though none have been identified.
Title
Samuel Crowley (d.1836/1837), Purser
Date
1807–1808
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 76 x W 63.5 cm
Accession number
BHC2639
Work type
Painting