Dominic Serres(British, 1722-1793)'The Sound Plimouth' (sic) 30.5 x 48.8cm. (12 x 19 1/4in.)
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Find your local specialistDominic Serres (British, 1722-1793)
signed with initials 'D.S.' and dated 1777 (lower left), inscribed with title (lower centre)
pen, ink and watercolour
30.5 x 48.8cm. (12 x 19 1/4in.)
Footnotes
Provenance:
Fine Art Society, 1953.
The estate of Mr. Wenbam, Winchelsea, 1953.
Polak Gallery, 1982.
As the result of Columbus’s discovery of the Americas (in 1492) and the consequent rise in transatlantic trade thereafter, Plymouth had become England’s leading commercial port by the reign of Elizabeth I, even though its origins could be traced back to the early fourteenth century. Its equally obvious strategic importance was also realised during and after the campaign to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588, and this was eventually recognised when, in 1689, it became the last of three new royal dockyards to be established after those at Harwich and Sheerness. Perhaps the new dockyard’s greatest asset was the vast sheltered anchorage known as Plymouth Sound in which any fleet could safely be accommodated, whatever the weather. Thus, as the overseas empire expanded and France assumed the role of Britain’s principal adversary in the eighteenth century, the sight of countless men-o’war, great and small, lying in Plymouth Sound became more and more familiar as an inspiration to numerous artists.
In this charming work, Serres encapsulates the sense of security which this anchorage afforded to the Royal Navy and provides a welcome addition to those other views recorded by Alan Russett in his catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work
We would like to thank Alan Russett for his help in cataloguing this lot.
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