Lot 36: H.M.S. Victory engaging the Spanish flagship at the battle of Cape St. Vincent, 14 t h 1797; and The Spanish prizes entering the Tagus after the battle

William Anderson (1757-1837)
H.M.S. Victory engaging the Spanish flagship at the battle of Cape St. Vincent, 14th 1797; and The Spanish prizes entering the Tagus after the battle
the first signed and dated 'W Anderson/1806' (lower right); the second indistinctly signed and dated 'W. A....' (lower left)
oil on canvas
34½ x 52 in. (87.8 x 132.1 cm.)
a pair (2)

The second painting, London, Royal Academy, 1798, no. 484, 'The British Squadron going into the Tagus with Spanish captured ships' (together with another work titled 'The Evening of February 14, 1797, off Cape St. Vincent, after the action....', no. 672).

Lt. Col. Bradley; Christie's, 17 May 1935, lot 1 (sold for 100 gns. to Spink & Son).
with Spink & Son, London.
Hon. Mrs. F.C. Brownlow.
Lt. Col. John D.C. Brownlow, 5th Baron Lurgan, and thence by inheritance.

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY


After some early successes, notably the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the war with Revolutionary France and her allies was not going well for Great Britain as 1796 drew to a close. A Franco-Spanish expedition to invade Ireland was being prepared and, with that in mind, the large but undermanned Spanish fleet was ordered to join its French counterpart already making for Brest. The Spaniards, under Admiral de Cordova, put to sea from Cartagena with twenty-seven ships-of-the-line in company with twelve frigates only to find Admiral Sir John Jervis lying in wait for them off Cape St. Vincent. On 13 t h February he was joined by Commodore Nelson's squadron and, the following day, Jervis brought the enemy to action in what proved a landmark victory despite the numerical superiority of Cordova's fleet. Aided by Nelson's tactical brilliance at a critical moment in the battle, Jervis decimated the Spanish fleet and forced the remnants to withdraw to Cadiz. Jervis's flagship, the mighty 100-gun first rate H.M.S. Victory , had been built at Chatham and launched in 1765. Already a veteran of several major engagements, Victory suffered only slight damage at Cape St. Vincent despite her pivotal role in the action during which she engaged the flagship of the Spanish Vice-Admiral Don Juan de Moreno, the Salvador del Mundo . Soon after the battle, Victory was laid up for an extensive rebuild after which she became Nelson's flagship destined for immortality at Trafalgar.

This painting, dated 1806, is virtually identical to the work by Robert Cleveley (1747-1809) which is illustrated in the Concise Catalogue of Oil Paintings in the National Maritime Museum , 1988, p. 127, BHC0485, and which was used as their inspiration by several artists.

After the victory at Cape St. Vincent, Sir John Jervis took the fleet into the Tagus to revictual and to carry out essential repairs, England's ancient alliance with Portugal ensuring that Lisbon was always a friendly port-of-call for ships of the Royal Navy. Along with Jervis's fleet came the captured enemy prizes which included four of Spain's finest fighting ships, namely the San Josef and Salvador del Mundo (flagship), both 112-guns, San Nicholas , 80-guns, and San Ysidro , 74-guns, all of which proved extremely valuable additions to the British Navy once they were refitted and ready for sea again.

Since this second painting, although undated, is that exhibited at the R.A. in 1798, it seems likely that its owner commissioned the companion work, of the battle itself and also offered in this lot, from Anderson, retrospectively, in 1806.