Victorian Marine Oil Painting HMS Bombay Burning off Montevideo After Richard Brydges Beechey

Victorian Marine Oil Painting HMS Bombay Burning off Montevideo After Beechey Historic 19th Century British Royal Navy Oil Painting Depicting the Burning and Abandonment of HMS Bombay in 1864 Highlights • Late 19th-century British oil on canvas • Depicts the burning of HMS Bombay off Montevideo in 1864 • British School, after Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895) • Derived from Beechey’s Royal Academy composition of 1866 • Dramatic Royal Navy maritime disaster subject • Sailors, rescue boats and survivors depicted • Historic inscription relating to HMS Bombay verso • Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame • Framed 56.3 cm high x 71 cm wide x 3.5 cm deep • Private marine collection provenance • Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution included Introduction A dramatic and historically significant late 19th-century British naval marine oil painting depicting the catastrophic burning and abandonment of HMS Bombay off Montevideo on 14 December 1864, after the celebrated composition by Royal Navy officer and marine painter Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895). HMS Bombay dominates the composition, her decks and rigging engulfed in flames while immense clouds of smoke rise above the vessel. In the foreground, a heavily laden ship’s boat carries escaping sailors across the dark turbulent water. Further rescue boats surround the burning vessel, while individual survivors can be seen in the sea and broken spars and wreckage float nearby. The dark blue-green water contrasts dramatically with pale cream, grey and ochre smoke punctuated by brilliant passages of orange-red flame, creating a powerful Victorian maritime narrative. Catalogue Details Artist / Attribution: British School, After Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895) Subject: The Burning and Abandonment of HMS Bombay Historical Event: 14 December 1864 Location Depicted: River Plate, off Montevideo, Uruguay Date: Circa 1870 / Late 19th century Medium: Oil on canvas Genre: British Marine / Naval Historical Painting Signature: Indistinct possible initials or mark lower right Inscription: Old manuscript inscription relating to the Burning of H.M.S. Bombay verso Frame: Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame Catalogue Note The painting presents HMS Bombay at the height of the disaster. The warship occupies the middle distance beneath an immense mass of pale grey, cream and ochre smoke punctuated by orange-red flames. The vessel’s hull, gun ports, masts, spars and surviving rigging remain visible against the smoke. Particularly compelling is the treatment of the escaping crew. A crowded rescue boat occupies the foreground, while further boats and survivors are visible closer to HMS Bombay. The dark sea, floating wreckage and numerous figures transform the composition from a conventional ship portrait into a dramatic account of maritime catastrophe, evacuation and survival. HMS Bombay HMS Bombay was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built of teak at Bombay Dockyard and launched on 17 February 1828. She was converted to auxiliary screw propulsion at Chatham Dockyard in 1861 and subsequently served on the South American Station. On 14 December 1864 fire broke out aboard the vessel near Montevideo during gunnery exercises and target practice. The blaze spread rapidly through the wooden warship and ultimately destroyed her. Ninety-three of her complement of 619 lost their lives. The painting captures the desperate evacuation as sailors escaped aboard boats and through the surrounding water. Richard Brydges Beechey Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895) was a Royal Navy officer and accomplished marine painter. A son of the celebrated portrait painter Sir William Beechey RA, his naval career provided him with extensive first-hand knowledge of ships, rigging and maritime conditions. Beechey’s depiction of the destruction of HMS Bombay was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1866, no. 34. Museum & Comparative Research The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, holds an important version of HMS Bombay on fire by George Cochrane Kerr inscribed: “G. E. Kerr / After Beechey” Another Kerr version is recorded at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth. The present painting follows Beechey’s established composition. In the absence of documentary evidence identifying its painter, no attribution to George Cochrane Kerr is presently made. The work is conservatively catalogued as: British School, 19th Century After Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895) Signed & Inscribed An indistinct possible mark or initials can be observed towards the lower-right area of the painted surface. These cannot presently be read with sufficient confidence to identify the artist. The reverse carries an old manuscript inscription relating to the Burning of H.M.S. Bombay. Frame Presented within a later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame which complements the dramatic marine composition. Provenance Private marine collection, Southern England. Subsequently curated and presented by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. Dimensions Framed: 56.3 cm high x 71 cm wide x 3.5 cm deep Approximately 22.17 inches high x 27.95 inches wide x 1.38 inches deep Attribution and Research The historical observations, provenance research and attribution analysis represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, based upon the available evidence, comparative research and published reference material. Future documentary discoveries, technical examination or advances in academic research may refine or revise current interpretations. Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD® Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art. Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.