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Notes
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This work commemorates the Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794. Lord Howe is second from the left in the group on 'Queen Charlotte's' quarter-deck, in admiral's full-dress uniform, 1787–1795, wearing a cocked hat. Though shown in uniform, during the battle he was reported as wearing an old civilian coat and knitted woollen cap. To the left, the Captain of the Fleet, Sir Roger Curtis, leans on a cannon. He wears the full-dress uniform of a commodore, 1787–1795. The main focus is the group around the dying Lieutenant Neville of the Queen's Regiment. Walter Lock, the naval lieutenant in the blue jacket, lifts Neville by the shoulders. To the left and centre of the group kneel Captain Tudor and Major Isaac of the Second Queen's Regiment and the Queen's Regiment.
The artist went to Portsmouth to sketch the 'Queen Charlotte' and the officers, making careful drawings and measurements, and studying the captured French ships. The painting was popularly exhibited by Daniel Orme in Old Bond Street in 1795. Significantly, it was believed to be the first time that portraiture had been introduced into a naval historical picture.
The published print shows that the canvas was cut down on all four sides. This accounts for the truncated figures to the left and right and has the effect of propelling the viewer immediately into the action. Brown was born in America and worked in England. He showed 80 paintings at the Royal Academy. Despite phenomenal early success, he fell on hard times and was disinherited by his father. He then concentrated on creating large religious and historical subjects, which were unsaleable. He died in London in poverty, in a room crowded with unsold paintings.
Title
Lord Howe on the Deck of the 'Queen Charlotte', 1 June 1794
Date
c.1794
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 259 x W 365.7 cm
Accession number
BHC2740
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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