THOMAS MITCHELL | View of Plymouth Sound with a third rate British Man of War and other shipping in the roads off Drake's Island

Private collection, England, by circa 1930; thence by descent to the previous owner

Possibly, London, Royal Academy, 1785, no. 148 ('View of Plymouth Sound, Mount Batten, etc.')

The canvas is lined, the paint surface is relatively clean, and the varnish discoloured. The paint has slightly thinned in areas, and there are visible retouchings throughout the sky. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms these, of which the largest concentration is in the lower left sky, and reveals further sensitively executed fine lines of retouchings throughout the foreground. In overall fair condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

With open access to the Atlantic Ocean Plymouth has been a major strategic naval base since the sixteenth century. It was from here, in 1577, that Sir Francis Drake set sail in the Golden Hind for his famous circumnavigation of the globe, and it was also from here that the English Fleet sailed to engage the Spanish Armada in 1588. Plymouth has played a vital role in Britain's maritime history ever since. In 1620 the Mayflower departed from Plymouth Sound for the New World with the Pilgrim Fathers and in 1689 William III established a Royal Dockyard here. Together with Portsmouth in the Solent, Plymouth became one of the two preeminent naval dockyards of Britain's great era of global naval supremacy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1815, following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the Emperor Napoleon was brought here and imprisoned aboard HMS Bellerophon before being transported to St Helena. In the twentieth century Plymouth played a key role in the fight for the Atlantic through two World Wars and today it is the largest naval base in Western Europe. Thomas Mitchell was both a painter and shipwright to the Admiralty. A Builders' Assistant at His Majesty's Dockyard, first at Chatham, in 1771, and then Deptford, where he was based from 1774, he was later appointed Assistant Surveyor of the Navy. Like John Cleveley, whom he must have known well, he was also an artist and exhibited paintings at the Free Society in 1763-80, and at the Royal Academy between 1774 and 1789.