HMY Victoria & Albert I First Royal Steam Yacht off Osborne House 19thC Victorian British Marine Watercolour in the Manner of Nicholas Condy

👑 HMY Victoria & Albert I off Osborne House c.1852 – First Royal Steam Yacht, 19thC Victorian British Marine Watercolour in the Manner of Nicholas Condy

Subject & Medium

A fine early Victorian 19th-century British School watercolour on paper, depicting HMY Victoria and Albert (I), the first purpose-built British royal steam yacht, underway off Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

The picture shows the royal yacht steaming through the Solent on a busy day, surrounded by small craft and yachts – a classic Victorian marine subject with strong royal, naval and Cowes / Isle of Wight interest. 🚢

Composition & Technique

The composition is built around a broadside view of HMY Victoria and Albert as she progresses through a gently animated sea, her ornate paddle boxes, three masts and single funnel clearly defined.

In the foreground, open boats and cutters crowded with tiny figures have rowed out to witness the spectacle, while further vessels occupy the middle distance, adding depth and a lively sense of movement across the Solent.

To the far left, above a dark band of trees, Osborne House is carefully picked out with its long stuccoed façade and towers, fixing the view firmly off the East Cowes shoreline.

Executed in transparent watercolour, the work combines crisp, controlled line in hulls and rigging with soft atmospheric washes in the sky and water. Small, well-judged touches of colour animate the figures and boats without distracting from the central ship portrait. 🌊⛵️

About The Ship

The vessel is HMY Victoria and Albert (I), launched in 1843 as the first purpose-built steam royal yacht for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She ushered in a new era of royal travel, combining a full sailing rig with powerful side paddle wheels driven by steam, and stood as a visible symbol of modernity and British maritime strength.

In 1854 she was rebuilt and renamed HMY Osborne.

Here she is shown in profile, with her distinctive paddle boxes ornamented, her three masts rising above a single funnel, and a modest head of steam as she passes through the Solent. Crucially, she flies the Admiralty fouled-anchor flag from the mainmast, with a red ensign aft, indicating that she is acting in an Admiralty flagship or reviewing role rather than carrying the Queen herself (which would normally be signalled by the Royal Standard). ⚓️

Historical Significance 

The combination of Osborne House on the shoreline, the dense crowd of spectator craft and the Admiralty flag at the mainmast strongly suggests a major Solent spectacle off Osborne – almost certainly connected with Cowes / Royal Yacht Squadron regattas of the early 1850s.

By this period, Osborne had become Victoria and Albert’s much-loved seaside retreat, and the surrounding waters formed a natural stage for Cowes Week, squadron events and naval displays. 🎆

The painting is given particular historical weight by the documentation mounted to the reverse: original letters from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Royal Archives, Windsor Castle (both dated 1989). These confirm the identification of the vessel as HMY Victoria and Albert (I), discuss structural details such as the round deckhouse aft and the funnel, and explain the significance of the Admiralty flag and the absence of the Royal Standard.

For a privately owned Victorian watercolour, it is rare to have this level of institutional confirmation. It firmly anchors the scene in the world of royal and Admiralty activity off Osborne in the early Victorian period. 📜🏛️

About the Artist

This is a 19th-Century British School work, painted in the manner of the marine artist Nicholas Matthew Condy. Although the exact hand remains unknown, the painting displays the crisp draughtsmanship and lively narrative quality typical of good Victorian marine art:

• Accurate hull forms and convincing rigging

• Well-judged perspective across crowded water

• A sure command of scale, from the imposing royal yacht to the tiniest foreground figures

The comparison with Condy acknowledges shared qualities of clarity, charm and careful ship portraiture without asserting a formal attribution. The picture sits comfortably alongside named marine painters of the period and will appeal to collectors who appreciate that tradition. 🎨

Signed

The watercolour is unsigned, with no visible initials or monogram within the image or along the lower margin.

Identification of the subject and dating rests on stylistic analysis and, crucially, on the attached correspondence from the National Maritime Museum and Royal Archives, which together confirm the ship and discuss her configuration. This is entirely typical of many 19th-century British School watercolours and does not detract from the decorative or historical value of the piece.

Framed

The painting is presented in an attractive, period-appropriate ornate gilt moulded frame, recently refitted using a quality Larson-Juhl decorative moulding. This gives the work a rich, gallery-level presentation perfectly suited to the royal subject.

A brand new white mount with a gold border has also been professionally fitted, providing a clean, crisp surround that lifts the image and echoes the gilding of the frame.

The work is glazed with Artglass AR 70, a high-quality low-reflection, UV-filtering glass that greatly reduces glare while offering enhanced protection against light damage – a thoughtful conservation choice for a 19th-century watercolour.

A good quality cord is fitted to the reverse, and the picture is ready to hang. 🖼️✨

Dimensions

Framed: 62cm wide x 52cm high x 3.5cm deep – an ideal cabinet picture size, offering ample detail while remaining easy to place in a domestic, yacht club or office setting.

Provenance

• Mr Dovey, Mid Glamorgan, recorded 1989

• Subsequently exhibited at the Lord Hill Museum, where the work was shown under the exhibition title:
  “HMY Victoria & Albert off Osborne House – A Royal Yacht in the Solent”

• Later in a private collection, Cardiff, with a notable auction house label verso

• Now curated and offered by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD

Mounted to the reverse are the original letters from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Royal Archives, Windsor Castle. Together they provide authoritative confirmation of the subject and discussion of the vessel.

This combination of private ownership, museum exhibition history at the renowned Lord Hill Museum, auction label and museum/royal documentation gives the work unusually solid and appealing provenance. 📦🖋️

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT 💚

✅ Royal pedigree – a wonderfully evocative image of the first royal steam yacht off Osborne House, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s beloved retreat.

✅ Naval & yachting glamour – the Solent alive with boats, with HMY Victoria and Albert acting in an Admiralty flagship / reviewing role during what is almost certainly a Cowes / Royal Yacht Squadron regatta.

✅ Museum-backed story – original letters from the National Maritime Museum and Royal Archives on the reverse, plus exhibition history at the Lord Hill Museum, so you literally have the experts’ words and museum provenance attached to your picture.

✅ Fresh, high-end presentation – newly fitted Larson-Juhl gilt moulded frame and brand new white mount with gold border, plus Artglass AR 70 glazing: ready to hang, wonderfully decorative and professionally finished.

✅ Cross-collecting appeal – perfect for collectors of royal memorabilia, marine art, Isle of Wight / Cowes Week material, steamship / early technology enthusiasts, or anyone who appreciates fine Victorian watercolours.

✅ Talking point – turn it around and you have a ready-made story for guests, combining royal life, early steam power, Cowes regattas and a named museum exhibition. 👑⚓️

Condition

The watercolour is in good antique condition for its age. The paper shows some light, even age toning and the occasional small spot of foxing under close inspection – entirely consistent with a mid-19th-century work on paper. The colours remain pleasing, and all key elements – the yacht, spectator craft and Osborne House – are clearly legible, with no obvious losses or over-restoration visible from the front.

The Larson-Juhl gilt moulded frame and new mount are in excellent, presentable condition, with only the lightest signs of handling to the frame as expected. The whole piece hangs well and displays the work attractively.

As always, close-up photographs form an important part of the description and will give the best sense of condition in hand. 🔍