Nicholas Pocock's paintings of sea battles

David Cordingly

Nicholas Pocock (1740–1821) was a prolific artist. He exhibited 113 pictures at the Royal Academy, and 183 pictures at the galleries of the Old Water-Colour Society. The National Maritime Museum has 22 of his oil paintings and more than 300 of his drawings, and there are major collections of his work in the Bristol Art Gallery, the British Museum, the National Museum of Wales at Cardiff, and elsewhere.

Pocock's seafaring background

Many of the Dutch and English marine artists had some experience of the sea but none had a more thorough grounding than Nicholas Pocock. He was born in 1740 in Bristol and was brought up in a house within a few yards of the port's busy quayside. He was the son of a seaman, and was apprenticed to his father at the age of 17.¹ By the time he was 26 he was master of a merchant ship bound for Charleston in South Carolina.

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography

After six return voyages across the Atlantic, the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (1775–83) compelled his employer to transfer his trading activities elsewhere. Pocock was sent first to the Mediterranean and then to the West Indies. During these sea-going years Pocock not only commanded ships in every type of weather, but also visited a number of places which were later to be the scene of famous naval actions. He was, for instance, able to draw on his local knowledge when he was commissioned to paint Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney's victory at the Battle of the Saints (fig. 1), and Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood's repulse of the French fleet at Frigate Bay, St Kitts (fig. 2). During his years at sea he made a regular practice of illustrating his logbooks with delicate pen and wash drawings of his ship, and sometimes included pictures of harbours he visited and coastal profiles of islands and headlands.

Figure 3: Watercolour and graphite sketch entitled 'Ushant 1st June 1794 le Juste and Invincible', Nicholas Pocock (PU8703) © NMM London		Figure 4: Watercolour and graphite sketch entitled 'The Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794, the end of the action', Nicholas Pocock (PU8697) © NMM London

Pocock also had the rare opportunity for an artist of witnessing a major fleet action from close quarters. In 1794 he was on board the frigate Pegasus during the Battle of the Glorious First of June. He took the opportunity to fill a journal with sketches and notes describing the course of the battle and later painted a number of pictures of different phases of the action (see figs. 3 and 4).

Figure 5: 'The Defence at the Battle of the First of June, 1794', Nicholas Pocock (BHC0474) © NMM London, Greenwich Hospital Collection

The most memorable of these is the small oil painting entitled 'The Defence at the Battle of the First of June, 1974' (fig. 5). This is one of the most authentic depictions of a sea battle ever painted. It is totally lacking the bravura and drama of de Loutherbourg's famous painting of the same action (fig. 6) but it has a deadpan realism which brings that distant battle to life. The damage to masts, sails and rigging is brilliantly observed (see fig. 7) and his depiction of the dense pall of gun smoke shrouding the ships is a reminder that, after several broadsides had been fired, it was frequently impossible for the sailors to see anything more than a few yards away.

Instructions from naval patrons

In 1789 Pocock and his family moved to London where they had a fine terrace house in Great George Street, Westminster.² This enabled him to keep in close touch with publishers and engravers and with the London art world. He became a founder member of the Old Water-Colour Society and exhibited there regularly, as well as at the Royal Academy and the British Institution. His house was conveniently placed for his naval patrons who provided him with numerous commissions. Scattered among Pocock's drawings and correspondence are several examples of the detailed instructions which he received from senior officers, and they reveal the accuracy which was demanded of him. One letter begins, 'Sir Richard Strachans compliments to Mr Pocock and inform him he just recollects that the French Admirals mizen topmast should be shot away at the time the picture is meant to represent…' and it is accompanied by a scratchy pen and ink sketch by Sir Richard who commanded the squadron which captured four French ships in November 1805.

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography

Figure 8: 'The capture of the Resistance and Constance by San Fiorenzo and Nymphe, 9 March 1797', Nicholas Pocock (BHC0495) © NMM London

While he was working on a painting of 'The capture of the Resistance and Constance by San Fiorenzo and Nymphe, 9 March 1797' (fig. 8), Pocock received the following letter from Sir Harry Neale who commanded the British frigate in the action:

The ships in Brest Harbour should be more distinct, & five sail should have their topsails hoisted ready to come out (which was the case). Mr Pocock may place the ships as they are in the sketch, or as they were during the action. The two English engaging the Resistance, which perhaps would look better; either would be correct as when the Resistance struck, the Nymph directly engaged the Constance, and from Point St Mathews to Brest signals were flying to give information to the Port Admiral at Brest.

Pocock carried out his instructions diligently and always took great pains to get as much information as possible from eyewitnesses about the weather, the wind direction, the exact position of the ships and the flags which were flying. He usually drew a plan of the battle to help him visualize the scene and several of these preliminary sketch plans have been preserved (see fig. 9).

The life of Nelson

Figure 10: Watercolour of 'The Agamemnon engaging the Ça Ira, 13th March 1795', Nicholas Pocock (PW5872) © NMM London		Figure 11: 'The Curieux leaving Antigua with dispatches for England, 12 June 1805', Nicholas Pocock (PW5884) © NMM London

Pocock devoted much of his later years to illustrating Nelson's sea battles. The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich has a large number of solander boxes filled with his preparatory drawings of Nelson's major actions, as well as a fine series of watercolours illustrating lesser known incidents in the Admiral's life (see figs. 10 and 11). The watercolours, which have sadly lost their blue and green tints through over exposure to light, are accompanied by three letters from the artist which set out his price for the series (he charged 42 guineas for the eight pictures) and provide some detail about the subject matter. Here are his notes for two of the subjects:

One is the Agamemnon's Engagement with the Ca Ira, within Gun Shot of a Tremendous Force and no Support near. The other is a view of St Johns Harbour Antigua taken on the spot by myself with the Fleet at Anchor - the Curieux Brig (in the foreground) making Sail with dispatches for England. Here though there is no fighting I thought the anxiety and Promptitude of Lord Nelson wou'd be exemplified, and with a Correct View of Antigua wou'd give the Whole a Variety.³

The most important of Pocock's various Nelson projects was undoubtedly the commission to produce the six key pictures for Clarke and McArthur's Life of Lord Nelson, K.B, the official biography of Britain's 'greatest naval hero'. Preparations for this impressive two-volume work began shortly after Nelson's death in 1805. Pocock exhibited the paintings at the Royal Academy and all six were engraved by James Fittler and reproduced in The Life of Nelson with long explanatory texts. Four of the engravings were also accompanied by plans of the action. This prestigious commission appears to have come from John McArthur, one of the authors. He was certainly the first owner of the paintings.

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography

Of the six paintings his imaginary composition entitled Nelsons ships is undoubtedly the finest (fig. 12). Although small in scale it is Pocock's masterpiece, combining his expertise in ship painting with a sense of poetry which is lacking in so many of his other paintings. The concept of the picture (possibly suggested by the authors) is a brilliant one: five of the ships commanded by Nelson are shown gathered together at Spithead in the golden light of evening. On the far left is the Agamemnon of 64 guns which Nelson commanded as a captain and then as a commodore. Then comes a broadside view of the Vanguard, Nelson's flagship at the Nile. In front of her is the Elephant in which Nelson fought at Copenhagen. She is viewed from the stern and flies at her foremast the flag of Vice-Admiral of the Blue.

Figure 13: Detail from 'Nelson's flagships at anchor', Nicholas Pocock (BHC1096) © NMM London

The centre of the picture has been left open, a compositional device frequently used by van de Velde the Elder in his grisailles, and used with even greater effect by van de Velde the Younger. Stealing across the calm waters in the middle distance is the Captain, the 74-gun ship which Nelson commanded as a commodore at the battle of Cape St Vincent. Dominating the right foreground is the Victory. She is shown at anchor, her topsails drying in the sun, and the flag of Vice-Admiral of the White catching the light breeze at the top of her foremast. She is firing a salute with her starboard guns as an admiral's barge is rowed alongside her starboard quarter (see fig. 13). In the far distance, on the right, can be glimpsed the buildings of Portsmouth's waterfront. Compared with similar subjects by van de Velde the Younger (see fig. 14) and Turner the treatment of the reflections and the drawing of the clouds is rudimentary but the painting nevertheless has a dreamy, almost visionary quality which is most memorable.

The other Clarke and McArthur pictures are less successful, possibly due to the fact that Pocock was in his late 60s when he painted them. 'The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801' (fig. 15) is a scrupulously detailed, aerial view of the action. In the foreground British bomb vessels are shown firing mortar shells in a high arc over the warships onto the distant batteries of the Trekoner fortress. The composition recalls the similar panoramic views used by earlier marine artists, particularly those of the Dutch and Flemish schools. For the marine artist this was an invaluable device for showing the entire battlefield and enabled him to produce a far more comprehensive view than would be seen from water level.

In his picture of 'The Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798' (fig. 16) Pocock shows his gift for filling the canvas with golden light. Indeed the sunset effect, combined with the graceful palm trees and the gesticulating figures in the foreground, is reminiscent of the celebrated harbour scenes of Claude, an artist much admired in England by the artists of the Romantic movement. We know that Pocock had taken Sir Joshua Reynolds' advice and copied van de Velde's work but although there is no evidence that he copied Claude, he would have certainly have seen engravings of his pictures. Many of Pocock's preparatory sketches for 'The Battle of the Nile' have survived and show the care which he took to obtain the most telling viewpoint. His weakness at figure drawing is betrayed by the clumsy oriental figures in the foreground, although here, as with so many of his watercolours, the weakness is not obtrusive. On the contrary the figures have a naïve charm which, together with evening glow and the long shadows, lifts the picture above the level of mere reportage.

Figure 17: 'The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: beginning of the action', Nicholas Pocock (BHC0548) © NMM London

The two paintings of the Battle of Trafalgar do not have the same quality. Pocock again planned the pictures carefully and drew numerous sketch plans showing the position of the ships at different stages of the battle. The picture showing the commencement of the battle, 'The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: beginning of the action' (fig. 17), has a certain amount of atmosphere engendered mainly by the skilful use of sunlight to illuminate the advancing British fleet, but the painting 'The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: end of the action' (fig. 18) is less convincing. No doubt the scene at 6 pm on 21 October 1805 closely resembled the shambles portrayed by Pocock, and the admirals were probably satisfied with the accurate depiction of the shattered French fleet, but the picture is dull and laboured and bears no comparison with Clarkson Stanfield's masterful depiction of the battle.

Figure 19: 'HMS Captain capturing the San Nicolas and the San José at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797', Nicholas Pocock (BHC0487) © NMM London

The sixth of the Life of Lord Nelson pictures was 'HMS Captain capturing the San Nicolas and the San José at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797' (fig. 19). According to the caption in Clarke and McArthur, 'This painting was taken from an accurate drawing of the late Captain Ralph W. Miller, who was Commodore Nelson's captain in that memorable battle. It is a lively picture with a pearly blue sky and a vigorously rendered sea. As with so many of Pocock's paintings a reproduction does not do justice to the sparkle and the acutely observed detail of the original.

Conclusion

Figure 20: 'Plymouth Dockyard, 1798', Nicholas Pocock (BHC1914) © NMM London, Greenwich Hospital Collection

When Pocock died in 1821 at the age of 81 he had recorded more than 40 years of maritime history.⁴ He was at his best when painting coastal subjects in watercolours. His oil paintings are variable in quality but his knowledge of ships and seafaring and his attention to detail gives them an unrivalled authenticity. His prolific output included pictures of most of the naval actions of the Nelson era as well as panoramic views of the royal dockyards (see fig. 20), pictures of merchant ships and fishing boats, and a variety of harbour and estuary scenes. These, together with the hundreds of his sketches which have been preserved, his notes, logbooks and correspondence are invaluable as historical documents and provide a fascinating insight into the maritime life of the period.

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography

Notes

[1] The Apprentice Books in the Bristol Record Office record the following information, '1757 March 22, Nicholas Pocock, son of Nicholas Pocock, mariner, apprenticed to his said father and Mary his wife for 7 years.' Pocock's parents lived in Prince Street, Bristol, and Pocock himself had a house in the same street until he moved to London. (return to essay)

[2] Pocock had married Ann Evans of Bristol on 10 February 1780. They had eight children, the eldest son Isaac became a painter and dramatist, and the second son, William Innes Pocock, became a naval lieutenant and was a talented painter in watercolours. (return to essay)

[3] NMM, Caird Library, AGC/XXII/4 (36.MS.0541) (return to essay)

[4] Pocock died on 9 March 1821 at Ray Lodge, Maidenhead, the home of his eldest son Isaac. He was buried in Cookham parish church. (return to essay)

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography

Bibliography

Archibald, E. H. H., Dictionary of Sea Painters, Antique Collectors Club, 1980, 1989

Clarke, James S. and M'Arthur, John, The Life of Lord Nelson, KB, in 2 volumes, 1809

Cordingly, David, Nicholas Pocock 1740–1821, Conway Maritime Press in association with NMM, 1986

Cordingly, David, Nicholas Pocock's Voyages from Bristol, in 'Sea Studies: essays in honour of Basil Greenhill', National Maritime Museum, 1983

Cordingly, David, The Watercolours of Nicholas Pocock, in the 54th annual volume of The Old Water-Colour Society's Club, London, 1979

Cordingly, David, Ships and Seascapes: an introduction to maritime prints, drawings and watercolours, Philip Wilson Publishers, 1997

Davies, Randall, Nicholas Pocock, article in fifth annual volume of The Old Water-Colour Society's Club, 1927–8

Dunman, W.H. Nicholas Pocock, catalogue of the exhibition held at Bristol Art Gallery in 1940

Greenacre, Francis, Marine Artists of Bristol, Bristol Art Gallery, 1982

Hardie, Martin, Watercolour painting in Britain, volume 1, London, 1967

Quarm, Roger, and Wilcox, Scott, Masters of the Sea: British marine watercolours (Phaidon Press in association with NMM, 1987 Roget, J. L., A History of the Old Water-Colour Society, London, 1891

Taylor, James, Marine Painting: Images of Sail, Sea and Shore, Studio Editions in association with the NMM, 1995

Contents

Pocock's seafaring background
Instructions from naval patrons
The life of Nelson
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography