Lot 7: Richard Paton (1717-1791)

Richard Paton (1717-1791)
A Royal Navy sloop, most probably H.M.S. Greyhound, in action with two heavily-armed Spanish galleys
signed 'R Paton' (lower right, on a spar)
oil on canvas
24 x 36 in. (61 x 91.5 cm.)

VARIOUS PROPERTIES
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Tantalisingly undated, it has proved extremely difficult to pinpoint the action depicted here. There is no record of any small British naval vessel capturing two Spanish armed galleys after an inshore fight during Paton's lifetime yet it is almost certain that the work depicts an actual event. Looking at the subject matter in reverse therefore, it is possible that the scene shows the 20-gun H.M.S. Greyhound [built at Deptford in 1720 and broken up in 1741], which was captured briefly by Spanish guarda costas on 15th April 1722 but restored to the fleet before the month was out. Although the loss of a Royal Navy ship appears an unlikely commission, especially at this date, the facts of the case are that the sloop was becalmed off the coast and under attack by two fast and highly manoeuvrable shallow-drafted galleys packed to the gunwales with armed men which meant that her fate was effectively sealed as soon as the galleys put out from shore. Thus, if this painting does indeed depict Greyhound before her capture and subsequent escape, it can easily be interpreted as not only a logical and correct commemoration of the ship's initial and somewhat inevitable loss but, more significantly, of her triumphant return.

Since it is well-known that Paton received the patronage of Commander (later Admiral Sir) Charles Knowles, it is equally likely that the scene, whatever it depicts, records an incident which Knowles would have either known of or been involved with.