Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD

British Oil Painting Marine Ship Blake Class Cruiser HMS Blenheim C1900's

£2,750.00

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This unique British marine oil painting of the Blake Class Cruiser Royal Navy HMS Blenheim of the 1900s will be a real showstopper! Transport yourself back in time with the beauty and detail of the intricate brush strokes. Ready to be shipped to you, ahoy!
Subject seascape marine portrait of the famous British Blake Class Cruiser Ship HMS Blenheim, which is portrayed in a side profile steaming along facing towards the right side in rough choppy seas. Storm seas crashing and being sprayed along and around the side hull of the ship. The British Royal Navy ensign & Union Jack flag can be seen hoisted on the stern mast. thick black smoke coming out of the twin funnels. With an overcast gray sky with small spots of blue in areas shining through in areas overhead. To the far right, towards the bow of the ship, you can view the conning Tower Bridge and the 9.2-inch main gun turret. With lifeboats shown along the sides and with navy sailor figures shown on deck & portholes below. To the distant flanks on either side in the distance are small sailing ships shown.
Such a fascinating nautical scene.
Title shown is painted at the bottom is "HMS Blenheim".
Unsigned British School artist.
Oil on canvas.
Provenance ship biography & label verso.
Set in a traditional maple frame.
Circa 1900s early 20th century.
HMS Blenheim was a Blake-class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890 to 1926. She was built by Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London. The ship was named after the Battle of Blenheim. She displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet (114 m) (length) and 65 feet (20 m) (beam) with 20,000 indicated horsepower (15,000 kW) turning 2 propellers, giving a top speed of 22 knots (41 km/h). Her main armament was two BL 9.2 inch Mk VI guns (234 mm) and six QF 6-inch guns (152 mm) on the upper deck, and four QF 6-inch guns in 150 mm compound armored caseates on the main deck. She also carried sixteen 3-pounders and four 14 inch torpedo tubes (two submerged and two above water. Having been launched on 5 July 1890, she was commissioned at Chatham on 1 January 1891.
The then Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John Thompson, died in England just after being sworn in as a member of Queen Victoria's Privy Council in December 1894. He was repatriated to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Blenheim, which was painted black for the occasion. Prince Henry of Battenberg died from malaria while on active duty on board HMS Blonde off Sierra Leone in January 1896 and Blenheim repatriated his body from the Canary Islands. On 27 January 1897, Blenheim accidentally rammed and badly damaged the French five-masted baroque France I, one of the longest tall ships afloat at the time.
France 1 was anchored off Dungeness point, showing two mooring lights (one at the bow and one at the stern). Though sea regulations of the time called for only one mooring light at the bow, it was usual practice to show another one at the stern on unusually long ships, a practice that was soon enforced into a law soon after this particular accident. The watch officer of Blenheim thought the lights were from two distinct ships anchored well apart and headed his own ship into the middle. The guards aboard France I shouted, sounded the ship's bell, fired flares and blew the foghorn, and Blenheim altered course at the last possible instant and gave France I am glancing blow instead of a full broadside-on ramming that would probably have sunk her, as period warships had ram bows, a very deadly feature as shown by the HMS Victoria/HMS Camperdown collision. France I did not sink and went carrying on the Europe - Chile trade after extensive dockyard repairs until 1901, but a British court blamed the French ship and refused to acknowledge HMS Blenheim's responsibility, a decision that was bitterly resented in maritime circles, both in France and wider afield.
With hanging thread on the back ready for immediate home wall display.
Incredible conversation piece for your guests.
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Condition report.
Offered in fine used condition.
The canvas has been re-lined and the stretcher replaced at the time of the restoration. There is paint shrinkage particularly noticeable on the hull area of the ship, various craquement and foxing stains. Also, some areas of overprinting restoration within the sky. Frame having some minor chips, losses in places commensurate with usage & age.
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Dimensions in centimetres of the frame

High (47 cm)
Wide (63 cm)
Depth thickness of frame (1.5cm)