John Cleveley the Elder

The Tawney Family;
Captain C. H. Allen;
By whom sold ('The Property of Captain C. H. Allen, D.S.O., R.N., ret'd'), London, Sotheby's, 14 March 1962, lot 134, to Agnew's;
With Thomas Agnew & Sons, London;
From whom acquired by the late owner.

London, Royal Academy, 1774, no. 39.

E.H.H. Archibald, Dictionary of Sea Painters, Woodbridge 1980, reproduced plate 220.

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The canvas has an old lining which is providing a generally secure structural support. There are stretcher bar lines and an overall pattern of very fine lines of drying craquelure that are slightly raised but entirely stable. Paint Surface The paint surface has a discoloured and opaque varnish layer and should respond very well to cleaning. There are also some surface deposits and fly spots which would be removed should the painting be cleaned. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows some very fine lines of inpainting filling the most prominent of the lines of drying craquelure, as well as other very small scattered spots and lines of inpainting. There is one area in the sky in the centre of the composition approximately 1 cm in diameter, which has slightly discoloured and is just visible in strong natural light. Inspection under ultra-violet light also confirms how well the painting should respond to cleaning. It is very encouraging to note that the fine details of the figures and boats appear to be intact and well preserved. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and the overall appearance should be significantly enhanced should the painting be cleaned and revarnished.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This impressive panorama depicts the Royal Review of the Fleet held between 22 and 27 June 1773, one of only five such events held in England during the eighteenth century. The ships on show were those that had fought the French during the Seven Years War, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pye in his flagship HMS Barfleur, built only five years before. It was the first formal Royal Review held in Britain and George III set out from Kew in a Royal coach with scarlet outriders to meet his admirals who were assembled at the dockyard to escort the King to the waiting fleet anchored at Spithead. As well as the Royal Navy Men-of-War, the Annual Register for 1773 described ‘a very great number of yachts, and other sailing vessels and boats, many of them full of nobility and gentry’ filling the channel. Upon his arrival at Portsmouth the King was saluted with a triple discharge of cannon, as seen in this painting, with each ship of the line simultaneously firing a shot from their port side batteries. George III took a keen interest in the event, staying at Portsmouth for several days. During this time he held a levee, visited and dined on the Barfleur, conferred knighthoods, and visited the dockyard buildings. Setting down a pattern that would be followed in future Royal Reviews, the King inspected the Fleet from the Royal barge and sailed in the yacht Princess Augusta; the Annual Register reporting that he expressed ‘the highest approbation of the good order and discipline of his fleet, the excellent condition of the dock-yard, arsenals, and garrison, . . . and showed the utmost satisfaction at the demonstrations of loyalty and affection with which he was received by all ranks of people’.

Cleveley depicts the event as seen from the land battery which formed part of the defenses of Portsmouth Harbour, known locally as the Hot Walls (so-called because it is reputed to be where hot shot was prepared during the Spithead Mutiny in 1797). The gun carriages bear the Royal cypher and the foreground is dominated by fashionably dress ladies and local gentlemen who have come out to spectate. In the middle distance the colorfully decorated flag ships stand out amid the masts and spars of the densely packed vessels with their streaming pennants and bright single flags. As well as the Barfleur, a 90-gun second rate ship of the line which would see distinguished service during the American War of Independence, as well as at the Glorious First of June, where she served as Rear-Admiral George Bowyer’s flagship, other prominent Royal Navy ships present at the review included HMS Royal Oak, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched at Plymouth in 1769 that fought at the battle of Chesapeake in 1781.

The son of a Southwark joiner, Cleveley trained as a shipwright at Deptford, and his main career was spent in the Royal dockyards there. Letters of administration granted to his widow after his death in 1778 refer to him being a 'carpenter belonging to his Majesty’s Ship the Victory in the pay of his M^ys Navy'. How Cleveley learnt to paint is unknown, but he must have known the work of Samuel Scott, and perhaps that of Canaletto’s English period (1746–55). He exhibited at the Free Society from 1764 to 1776, as well as at the Royal Academy from 1770 until his death in 1777. A good draughtsman, who knew Paul Sandby, his art combines valuable historical record with much human detail and a modest grandeur. Cleveley exhibited this picture at the Royal Academy in 1774, and it seems likely that he had been at Portsmouth during the Review. The other exhibit he showed that year was another Royal Review related subject, His Majesty sailing in the yacht at the head of the Blue Squadron to St Helens (St Helens Fort off the Isle of Wight in the Solent), and the following year he exhibited a picture of The Fleet saluting at Spithead, taken from the platform (no. 65), and another of His Majesty sailing into the harbour (no. 66), as well as a View of Freshwater bay, back of the Isle of Wight. His son, John Cleveley Jnr., also a painter, was present at the Review as well, and made drawings of the shipping taken from a boat offshore, two of which are in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (PAH9497 and PAH9498). Also among those present was the French born painter Dominic Serres, who painted a set of four views of the event in 1775 (Royal Collection).