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Notes
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The main vessel in this carefully observed and atmospheric work is a naval two-decker of 70 guns, with a cutter astern of her. Figures can be seen aloft. Although this ship has not been identified, it is probably one of the Dublin class, which came into operation at the end of the artist's life, so this is a late work. On the left is a ketch-rigged sloop, or bomb-vessel, and in the middle distance is another two-decker. The waves and condition of the sails indicate a light breeze, and the artist's treatment of these elements, together with his approach to both the sky and light, combine to create an elegant composition in an unusually exact square format. Most of the artist's extant paintings date from the last six years of his career and are principally marine subject matter.
Title
Ships in a Light Breeze
Date
c.1750–1759
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 68.6 x W 68.6 cm
Accession number
BHC1022
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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Warships Becalmed Lotherton Hall, Leeds Museums and Galleries -
Sea Piece Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) -
A Ship before a fresh Breeze and another to Leeward Ashmolean Museum, Oxford -
Shipping in a Breeze, with a Cutter close-hauled in the foreground Ashmolean Museum, Oxford -
Shipping Becalmed in the Solent National Maritime Museum -
Greenland Fishery: English Whalers in the Ice National Maritime Museum -
English Ships under Sail in a Very Light Breeze Yale Center for British Art - 55 more