Lot 191: William Frederick Mitchell (British, 1845-1914)

A collection of eight ship portraits charting the Naval career of Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne, namely:
HMS Royal Alfred (Midshipman) signed 'W.Fred Mitchell', inscribed 'no 1591- 1677' and dated 1893 (lower right); HMS Sirius (Midshipman) signed 'W. Fred Mitchell', inscribed 'no 1659' and dated 1893 (lower left); HMS Raleigh (Midshipman) signed 'W.Fred Mitchell' and dated 1894 (lower right), inscribed 'no. 1702' (lower left); HMS Penelope (Flag Lieutenant) signed 'W.Fred Mitchell', inscribed 'no 1592 (1678)' and dated 1893 (lower right); HMS Minotaur (Commander 1886-8) signed 'W.Fred Mitchell and dated 1892 (lower left); An unnamed warship, probably Northumberland, indistinctly signed 'W.Fred Mitchell' and dated 1892 (lower left); HMS Trafalgar (Captain) unsigned; HMS Victorious (Rear Admiral), signed 'W.Fred Mitchell' and dated 1906 (lower right), numbered 2532 (lower left)
all pen, ink and watercolour heightened with white
31 x 43cm (12 3/16 x 16 15/16in).
(8)

Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne GCVO KCB Bt. (1855-1938) was the son of an Admiral and entered the Navy in 1869. After serving in North america and the West Indies on Royal Alfred & Raleigh in 1879, as a young Lieutenant on HMS Active he served as ADC to Lord Chelmsford in the Zulu War. After serving on Minotaur, then Orion and Penelope, he was appointed as Commander to HMY Victoria and Albert and as Captain in 1891 to Command HMY Osborne, although the appointement was nominally a Commander, he remained with the Royal Yachts for some 18 years eventually rising to Flag Officer, Royal Yachts and becoming close friends with the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra. He served again in Minotaur and Northumberland before transferring to the Flagship HMS Trafalgar in 1894. He was appointed 2nd in Command, Atlantic Fleet in 1906 on HMS Victorious and Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1912, a post he held at the start of WW1. After an incident when the Fleet allowed the escape of two German warships into Turkey, he stood down and went on to half pay in 1916, retiring at the end of the war.

This series of ship's portraits were commissioned by Milne from Mitchell, a well known warship artist, mostly during the period he commanded the Royal Yachts, with the exception of HMS Victorious.