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A painting showing the ships of the First Battle-Cruiser Squadron in 1915, in line of battle against the setting sun. The leading vessel could be one of the battleships 'Ajax', 'Audacious', or 'Centurion, since they were the only ones with tripod foremasts and no hull embrasures. They are shown with anti-torpedo nets that were removed in 1915–1916. The vessels astern are battle cruisers, probably of the 'Indefatigable' class. The vessel in the extreme distance is also a battle-cruiser, either the 'Lion' of 1910 or 'Princess Royal', 1911. On the right of the picture is a C-class submarine, launched between 1906 and 1910, and a destroyer either of the 'Acorn' or 'H' class, or the 'Acasta' or 'K' class. Battle-cruisers were complementary to the dreadnought battleship. Carrying similar-sized guns they achieved greater speeds, and could take swift evasive action by compromising on the thickness of their armour.
The son of an English genre painter, the artist was a painter and engraver. He entered the Royal Academy schools in 1866 and won the Turner Gold Medal for Landscape in 1870. His interest in the sea developed into a continuing career as a marine painter. He worked on paintings of shipping throughout the First World War and contributed the drawings to two books on the naval ships during the First World War.
Title
Masters of the Seas
Date
1915
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 151.8 x W 274.3 cm
Accession number
BHC4167
Work type
Painting