Gilbert Stuart

(Saunderstown 1755-1828 Boston)

Portrait of Captain Sir John Jervis, later 1st Earl of St Vincent, in full-dress uniform, standing in a coastal landscape with the fleet in the distance in the original carved and gilt frame

Footnotes

Provenance
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1734-1823)
Edward Jervis, 2nd Viscount St Vincent (1767-1859)
Carnegie Robert Jervis, 3rd Viscount St Vincent (1825-1879)
John Leveson Jervis, 4th Viscount St Vincent (1850-1885)
Carnegie Parker Jervis, 5th Viscount St Vincent (1855-1908)
Ronald Clarges Jervis, 6th Viscount St Vincent (1859-1940)
Ronald James Jervis, 7th Viscount St Vincent (1905-2006)
Edward Jervis, 8th Viscount St Vincent (1951-2023), and by descent to the present owners

Engraved
Robert Laurie and James Whittle, August 1794 (showing the sitter bust length)
John Raphael Smith, mezzotint, 5 September 1797



The reappearance of this unlined, full-length portrait by Gilbert Stuart is a remarkable discovery. John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent was a significant figure in British naval history and he is portrayed here by one of the great names of 18th century American painting. Whilst the composition was known from prints produced in the 1790s the whereabouts of an original painting have, until now, eluded scholars. The head-and-shoulders sketch of Jervis now in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, (fig 1.) (inv.no. BHC3004) appears to have been painted around the same date and may relate to the present work, although it shows him facing to left rather than to right.

The nineteen year old Gilbert Stuart had arrived in London from America in 1775 and was to remain there for the next twelve years. After a somewhat slow start he wrote to his compatriot Benjamin West, who had preceded him there in 1763, asking for assistance. West was by this time well-established in London and had royal patronage as official history painter to King George III; impressed by Stuart's obvious skill, he took him in as a resident assistant in his studio to assist with his large-scale history paintings. It was not from West, however, that Stuart drew his influences: he looked to the British artists of the day such as Reynolds, Gainsborough and Romney, whose freer and more painterly approach to portraiture helped shape his style. In time Stuart moved to his own studio space in Newman Street, but despite winning portrait commissions, including one for 15 studies of artists from the print seller Boydell, he found himself in financial difficulties. Hearing of his plight, Sir John Jervis, together with the politician Isaac Barré and the landowner and art patron Hugh Percy, visited him to offer financial assistance in April 1785. He declined their help but accepted commissions to paint their portraits and a significant number of orders from their friends and contacts followed. Jervis alone sent him substantial business, as the artist and chronicler Joseph Farington records in his diary entry for 27 April 1805: 'His Lordship mentioned how great a Patron He had been to American Stuart while He painted Portraits in England, and said Stuart had received through his recommendations at least £2,000'.

By the time the present portrait of Jervis was painted in the mid 1780s Stuart was at the peak of his productivity in London with a studio in New Burlington Street. In this life-size portrait the influence of Reynolds is immediately apparent both in the composition and the handling, and it suggests that Stuart must have known the older artist's portrait of Commodore Keppel (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, inv.no. BHC2823) painted in 1752-3 with its classical echoes of the Apollo Belvedere. The thickly-impasted treatment of the face, the liquid treatment of the collar and cravat and the short, sketchy brushstrokes that Stuart uses for Jervis's wig are all reminiscent of Reynolds. There are also parallels to Romney's portraits of Sir Francis Geary and Vice-Admiral George Darby (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, inv.nos. BHC2707 and BHC2643). Around the same time Stuart painted his somewhat comparable portrait of John Gell (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) of which John Hoppner, the artist and critic, wrote 'It is...a plain and admirably well painted portrait...without any trickery to dazzle the eye, or mislead the judgement. The likeness is very strong, which we understand to be almost invariably the case with the portraits of this artist'. In fact Stuart was admired not just for his ability to capture a good likeness, but also for his particular talent for interpreting the character of his sitters.

John Jervis had a long and distinguished career in the navy; he was known for his rigorous professionalism, and although a disciplinarian he was both kind and loyal to those whom he felt were worthy of his support. While unapologetically dismissing officers whom he considered weak or incompetent, he championed those with talent, most famously his protégé Horatio Nelson. John Jervis was born into a Staffordshire family and his father was solicitor to the Admiralty. It was assumed that John would follow him into the law but his son had other intentions and joined the navy at an early age. He first saw captaincy in 1757 and had involvement both in the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence. He was promoted commander in 1759, and in temporary command of the Porcupine he escorted General Wolfe past Quebec, later conveying Wolfe's last message to his fiancée. In 1777 he was put in command of the navy's most prestigious ship, the Foudroyant and saw action at the Battle of Ushant. Some five years later he won great public acclaim when, as part of vice-Admiral Barrington's squadron of 12 ships of the line, Foudroyant was lying off Brest. A French convoy was spotted leaving port and the Foudroyant succeeded in capturing the 74 gun French ship Pégase, the following day escorting her into Portsmouth harbour to cheering crowds. Although there were few English casualties in the skirmish, Jervis himself suffered a splinter wound to the face that was to dog him for years to come. He was elevated to Knight of the Bath in recognition of his actions, his coat of arms referencing his victory by incorporating a winged horse.

Entering politics for the first time in 1783, Jervis was returned as the member for Great Yarmouth, and the same year he married his cousin, Martha. He was elected MP once more in 1794, this time for Chipping Wycombe, but he resigned his seat in 1795. The following year he was promoted admiral and was made commander-in-chief of the Fleet in the Mediterranean. It became apparent that an alliance between France and Spain was imminent and was likely to jeopardise the position of the British fleet in the Mediterranean, so Jervis withdrew his ships to Gibraltar and Cadiz. In 1797, commanding Victory, he positioned his fleet off Cape St Vincent in Portugal with the aim of preventing Spanish ships from joining forces with the French and Dutch fleets further north and taking control of the Channel. He and Commodore Horatio Nelson distinguished themselves by overpowering 27 Spanish ships of the line and nine frigates at what became known as the Battle of Cape St Vincent, despite being outnumbered two-to-one by the enemy. In recognition Jervis was created Baron Jervis of Meaford and Earl of St Vincent at the suggestion of King George III, as well as receiving a pension of three thousand guineas a year. Further acclaim followed in 1798 when Jervis deployed Nelson to reconnoitre the Mediterranean: at the ensuing Battle of the Nile Nelson's ships defeated the French, bringing him heroic status and justifying the confidence that Jervis had placed in him.

Health issues forced Jervis to return home and in 1799 he was put in command of the Channel Fleet. As First Lord of the Admiralty from 1801 he embarked on a mission to scourge the dockyards and naval administration of what he perceived to be corrupt practices, although there may have been less foundation for his concern than he believed and he was replaced on Pitt's return to power in 1804. He maintained a keen interest in naval affairs over many years of retirement and received the great distinction of being made Admiral of the Fleet in 1821 at the age of 87. He died without issue and on his death his estate passed to his sister's son, Edward Jervis Ricketts, who changed his name to Jervis and inherited the Viscountcy, but the Earldom became extinct.

John Raphael Smith most likely published his mezzotint (fig 2.) based on the present portrait in response to Jervis's victory at Cape St Vincent in 1797 which would have put him very much in the public eye. While the composition was drawn from Stuart's portrait, Smith altered Jervis's uniform to reflect his higher rank (he was promoted to Admiral in 1795): in the print Jervis wears epaulettes with two stars, shorter, braided cuffs, heavily-braided, dark facings to his coat and he holds a braided hat.