Nicholas Pocock OWS The Naval Review at Spithead, 1814

An original early 19th-century watercolour painting, Nicholas Pocock OWS, The Naval Review at Spithead, 1814.

A triumphant naval subject in grisaille wash by Nicholas Pocock (1740–1821). The drawing shows the Grand Naval Review of June 1814 at Spithead, Portsmouth, attended by the Prince Regent, the future George IV. Characteristic of Pocock, there is exquisite detail to the rigging and to the numerous small boats diminishing into the distance at this grand naval occasion.

Naval fleet reviews involved gathering many ships—traditionally in the Solent off Spithead—to be formally inspected by the sovereign, their representative or assembled dignitaries. The original purpose of reviews was to inspect the fleet before or after a major naval engagement, but from the 18th century, they became great state occasions, with political, diplomatic, ceremonial and military functions. The 1814 review was held on 25th June to celebrate the Treaty of Paris and mark the apparent end of the Napoleonic Wars. The ships of the fleet 'mann'd and saluting' were reviewed by the Prince Regent from HMS Impregnable. The Czar of Russia and the King of Prussia were also in attendance.

Nicholas Pocock was the leading marine painter of his time. Himself a seaman, he was exceptional for being entirely self-taught as an artist and for his unusually meticulous research for his subjects, often obtaining eye-witness accounts from those who had been present at battles and naval events.

Born in Bristol in 1740, the son of a mariner, Pocock followed his father's profession and by the age of twenty-six he was master of the Lloyd, a merchant ship belonging to Richard Champion, a prominent Bristol merchant and maker of Bristol porcelain. He was subsequently captain of Champion's ships Betsey and Minerva. His numerous voyages included trips to America, the West Indies and the Mediterranean. In 1794, he was present at the battle of the Glorious First of June, the first and largest naval conflict between the British and the French during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Pocock kept detailed logbooks during these voyages, illustrated with meticulous pen and ink and wash drawings, but he did not seriously take up painting until about 1778, when his employer Richard Champion became insolvent. In 1789 he moved to London with his family and established his reputation as a successful marine painter. He received numerous commissions to depict the naval engagements and battles of the period. He was a favourite of Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and was appointed Marine Painter to King George. In 1804 he was a founder-member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours.

His work is represented in numerous public collections, including the British Museum, The Courtauld Gallery, the National Maritime Museum, Tate and the V&A, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, and National Museum Wales.