Lot 403: Attributed to Lieutenant Robert Strickland Thomas, R.N. (1787-1853) HMS Britannia passing Mt. Edgecumbe inscribed as titled on an old label attached to the reverse oil on canvas 49 x 66cm. HMS Britannia was built in 1820 and was in the Mediterranean

Attributed to Lieutenant Robert Strickland Thomas, R.N. (1787-1853) HMS Britannia passing Mt. Edgecumbe inscribed as titled on an old label attached to the reverse oil on canvas 49 x 66cm. HMS Britannia was built in 1820 and was in the Mediterranean between 1830-1832 and again in 1835. From 1836 she was flagship at Portsmouth and remained there until she went out of commission from 1842. Thomas entered The Royal Navy as an able seaman in 1805. He was soon promoted to midshipman on board Princess Charlotte, a frigate, and it may be that he got his grounding in art from the ship's captain, George Tobin, who was an enthusiastic amateur painter, alter to retire to Teignmouth and paint with Thomas Luny. In 1813 Thomas joined the frigate Creole and was made acting lieutenant. Whilst on a tour of duty off the coast of Africa he contracted a disease that left him deaf and unfit for further service, though he was confirmed in the rank of lieutenant in 1815. He took up full time painting to augment his half pay and concentrated mainly on naval subjects. The National Maritime Museum has five works by Thomas in their collection. He exhibited three pictures at The Royal Academy.