A British Man-o'-War in two positions, with other vessels off a coast

Charles Philip, 4th Earl of Hardwicke (1799-1873), to whom this picture is recorded as having been given, pursued a distinguished career in the navy before turning to politics. He retired from the navy in 1854 with the rank of Rear-Admiral later rising by seniority to become an Admiral in 1863. The Hardwicke family had long had connections with the navy; Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, the Lord Chancellor, had married George Anson, the famous Admiral, in 1748. The Hardwicke collection of pictures at the family seat, Wimpole Hall, included a number of very fine shipping pictures reflecting this connection. The 1924 sale included as lots 151 and 152, among other shipping pictures, two works by Samuel Scott: Lord Anson's Action in the Centurion with the Spanish Galleon off the Phillipines and Lord Anson's Action off the Cape of Finistere, the former is now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (see R. Kingzett, A Catalogue of the Works by Samuel Scott, Walpole Society, XLVIII, 1980-82, pp.28 and 34.).