The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth was founded originally as the Dockyard Museum in 1911. The museum now houses one of the most important collections of Nelson portraits in the country, featuring works by Hoppner, Abbott, Devis, Lucy and de Koster. Chief among these is Heinrich Füger's painting, generally agreed to be one of the best likenesses of the admiral.
The artist most closely associated with the museum is W. L. Wyllie. His gigantic painting 'The Battle of Trafalgar Panorama' (measuring 42 feet x 12 feet) is still on display in the annexe built to his design where he painted it in 1929.
All the collections focus on telling the history of the people of the Royal Navy and within the art collection are a number of naval portraits, ranging from Thomas Hudson's magnificent study 'Admiral Sir George Pocock (1706–1792)' resplendent in the first naval officer's uniform, to studies of ordinary sailors. In recent years, the museum has acquired paintings by a number of modern maritime artists notably, Geoff Hunt, William Bishop, Rex Phillips, Roger Fisher and Charles David Cobb.
HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3NH England
library@nmrn.org.uk
023 9272 7562
The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth is open everyday except 24th, 25th and 26th December. Access to collection in store is by prior appointment.