The British Fleet with a Vice-Admiral of the Red off Dover
£29950
‘The British Fleet with a Vice-Admiral of the Red off Dover’ by Dominic Serres R.A. (1722-1793).
French-born Dominic Serres didn’t just paint the drama of a life on the ocean wave, he lived it. Set for an unlikely career in the priesthood, the young Serres gave the Benedictine monks at his seminary the slip and made his way to Spain where he joined the crew of a vessel bound for the Caribbean. In 1745 Serres was captaining a Spanish privateer out of Havana when it was captured by a British frigate and was subsequently brought to England as a prisoner of war. Upon his release he turned his artistic talent and thorough knowledge of seamanship and naval vessels into a second career as a highly successful painter of seascapes.
Serres was to become one of the most important marine painters of the early English School and many of his naval pictures were commissioned by British naval commanders such as Augustus John Hervey (1724-1779, First Sea Lord of the Navy) and Admiral Augustus Keppel (1725-1786, Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet). The current work may have been a commission from the latter.
In 1768 Dominic Serres became one of the Founder Members of the Royal Academy, and in 1780 he was appointed Marine Painter to King George III. Between 1761 and 1793 Thomas Serres exhibited 108 paintings at the Royal Academy, 21 at the Free Society and 8 with the Incorporated Society of Artists. Today, seascapes by Dominic Serres are held in the collection of the National Maritime Museum and in the English Royal Collection.
Academy Fine Paintings only offers artwork for sale in the finest condition it can be for its age, having been professionally cleaned, conserved, and re-varnished. Clients should also note that tracked and signed for international shipping is complimentary.
Dimensions: (framed) 122cm x 166cm (48” x 65¼”).
Dimensions: (canvas only) 101cm x 146cm (39¾” x 57½”).
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Provenance: 1996: Sotheby’s, London. Private UK collection. Artory Registry ID: ART-APTDG74R. Artwork ID: BXCYDC5N
Presentation: Giltwood swept frame.
Condition: Very good. Professionally cleaned, restored, and re-varnished. Ready to hang.