Lot 77: ROBERT STRICKLAND THOMAS (1787-1853) H.M.S. QUEEN FLAGSHIP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN FLEET LEAVING MALTA 70cm x 105cm (27.5in x 41.5in)

ROBERT STRICKLAND THOMAS (1787-1853)

H.M.S. QUEEN FLAGSHIP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN FLEET LEAVING MALTA

Signed and dated 1842, oil on canvas
70cm x 105cm (27.5in x 41.5in)
Estimate £ 7,000-10,000

Note:H.M.S. Queen, a three-decker of 110 guns was the flagship at Malta under acting Captain Hastings R Henry. The C-in-C, however was Vice-Admiral Sir Edward William Campbell Rich Owen who is listed in O'Byrne's 1849 Dictionary of Naval Biography.
Lt. Robert Strickland Thomas R.N entered the Royal Navy as an able seaman aboard the Princess Charlotte, frigate in 1805. It is likely that he received his grounding in art in her gunroom from her Captain, George Tobin, an enthousiastic amateur, who later painted with Thomas Luny.Whilst aboard the frigate Creole and cruising off Africa Thomas contracted a disease which left him deaf. Unfit for service he took up painting full time to augment his half pay and his work is notable not only for it's quality but also for it's accuracy of detail as befits an artist who had spent half his life at sea.
Provenance:Blair House, Ayrshire