Lot 69: Charles Taylor Jnr. (British, fl.1836-1871)

A large racing cutter preparing to round the mark, an ironclad battleship astern of her and a screw-powered two-decker nearby
signed 'Chas Taylor' and dated 1871 (lower left)
watercolour heightened with white
54 x 108cm. (21 1/4 x 42 1/2in.)

The evocation of speed in this spirited work is a 'tour de force' and the composition as a whole is an outstanding example of this artist's work. Despite it working so well however, Taylor seems to have made a minor error in painting a crown in the fly of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's ensign when that feature had been discontinued some years before. By comparison, his treatment of the ironclad astern of the yacht is instantly recognisable as either H.M.S 'Warrior' or her equally famous sister 'Black Prince', the world's first iron warships whose completion guaranteed British supremacy at sea into the twentieth century.