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oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

G. Scott, 1894;
R.C. Isaac;
Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Hutcheson Poe (1848-1934), by 1902;
Sir Bruce Ingram, sold Sotheby's, 11th March 1964, lot 3 for £10,500
EXHIBITED

Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1902-3, no. 104;
Royal Academy, British Art, 1934, no. 351;
Brussels, Exposition Universelle Cinq Siecles d'Art, 1935, no. 1102;
Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, 1946;
Montreal Museum of Art, 1957;
Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, November 1957;
Toronto Art Gallery, January 1958;
Toledo Museum of Art, February 1958
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

F. Gordon Roe, Sea Painters of Britain, 1947, plate 23;
David Joel, Charles Brooking, 2000, p. 163, no. 352A
CATALOGUE NOTE

The Royal Family Privateers owed their unusual name to the fact that each vessel was named after a member of the Royal Family. They carried out a series of dashing exploits in the 1740's, commanded by James Talbot, and several of these were painted by Brooking. This painting probably depicts the action on 10th July 1745 when the Prince Frederick and the Duke, under the command of Commodore James Talbot, captured two French vessels, the Marquese d'Antin and the Louis Erasme. The action was particularly celebrated since the French ships were found to have over one million pounds in bullion aboard. When the ships reached Bristol, the treasure was taken to London in 45 wagons, accompanied by an armed guard and preceded by a band. There was understandable demand for images of the remarkable exploits of these privateers, and John Boydell published a series of engravings in 1753.

Sir Bruce Ingram also owned a fine drawing by Brooking showing a later action by the Royal Privateers, the attack on the Gloriosa by the Prince Frederick and the King George, 8th October 1748.