Lot 136: Richard M. Firth (British, b. 1971) Vigilant and Britannia neck-and-neck in the Solent, 1894

Vigilant and Britannia neck-and-neck in the Solent, 1894
signed 'Richard M Firth' (lower right)
oil on canvas
71.1 x 106.7cm (28 x 42in).

This fine work by Richard Firth portrays the legendary Britannia doing battle with her celebrated American cousin Vigilant at Cowes in August 1894. Britannia, anxious to repeat her highly successful maiden season the year before, found herself matched against a worthy opponent in Vigilant, the latter fresh from her triumphant retention of the America's Cup the previous October [1893]. The two giants first met during the so-called "Clyde Fortnight" in July [1894] and sailed against each other seventeen times in all that summer. From the Clyde, the two yachts made their way to Cowes – via several other regattas – and it is probable that the scene depicted here shows them battling it out during their memorable private match, for a 100-guinea cup, on 4th August, which Vigilant won.

Britannia, arguably the most famous racing cutter of them all, was extremely successful throughout her long life and even though she was re-rigged seven times in all, her hull shape was so efficient that she remained competitive almost to the end. Starting with 33 wins in 39 races during her maiden season, she enjoyed two brilliant but quite separate careers under first, the Prince of Wales (1893-97), and then his son, George V, after 1921. The latter grew so attached to her that, under the terms of his will, she was scuttled after his death in 1936 following the removal of all her salvageable gear.

Vigilant was designed and built for a wealthy American syndicate headed by C. Oliver Iselin. Ordered in response to Lord Dunraven's 1892 British challenge for the America's Cup, Vigilant won all three of the races in October 1893 to retain the trophy in one of the closest finishes in the Cup's history. Many yachtsmen of the day, in fact, considered Vigilant to be Britannia's most worthy adversary and the early duels between the two yachts were still being discussed long after the Prince of Wales had sold her in response to the Kaiser's obsessive jealousy and fanatical determination to beat her with his Meteor.