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A line of merchant ships with a coastline in the distance and a small boat in the foreground, rowing right to left with five figures on board. The ship in starboard-quarter view, centre right, bears the name 'Castor' on the stern and is most likely to be one built at Whitehaven, Cumbria, in 1782, possibly by Spedding and Company, for Daniel Brocklebank senior. If so she was of 400 tons, mounting 18 guns, but increased to 467 tons when lengthened in 1796. She was largely used in the transatlantic trade and according to Lloyd's Register was owned by Brocklebank until 1791, when he also owned a brig of the same name. In 1801 to 1802, about the date of the painting, the ship 'Castor' was trading from London to Jamaica in the ownership of Curling and Co. The ship on the left, at anchor, bears the name 'Mars' and may be one of 431 tons, built at Hull in 1798, which was also in the London–Jamaica trade at this time, in the ownership of W. Fisher. The ship on the far right is named 'Iris' and that immediately to her left 'Mariner'.
Luny was a skilled ship portraitist and from the late 1780s he painted many works depicting ships for owners and masters, as well as naval battle paintings and other marine views. This example, which is signed and dated 'T Luny 1802' on a floating spar on the left, was probably painted in London before he moved to Teignmouth in 1807 and began keeping a surviving list of his large output there.
Title
The Ship 'Castor' and Other Vessels in a Choppy Sea
Date
1802
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 82.2 x W 126.3 cm
Accession number
BHC3251
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
T. Luny 1802
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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