Lot 89: A Squadron of Danish warships moored off the entrance to Portsmouth harbour, with the masts of shipping in the harbour in the distance

Henry Thomas Dawson (fl.1860-1873)
A Squadron of Danish warships moored off the entrance to Portsmouth harbour, with the masts of shipping in the harbour in the distance
signed with monogram and dated 'HTD.Jun.r. 1869' (lower left)
oil on canvas
32 x 48 in. (81.3 x 122 cm.)

Following the marriage of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 and the consequent alliance of the two nations, occasional goodwill visits by warships of the Danish Navy to British ports became a transient feature of the mid-Victorian maritime scene.

Henry Thomas Dawson exhibited widely in his lifetime although his work has been much eclipsed by that of his more famous son, Montague (1895-1973).