A British warship in three positions in the Channel

Francis Swaine was baptized on 22nd June 1719 at St Botolph's, Aldgate, London, although his exact date of birth is unknown. However, by 1735 he was working as a messenger for the Navy Board as in that year his name appears in a list of clerks and officers employed by the Treasurer and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy. It is not clear exactly how he came to be a marine painter, but time spent in the naval offices must have been an influence. Perhaps it was through these connections that he met Peter Monamy, whose eldest daughter, Mary, Swaine married in 1749. Like his father-in-law, Swaine's style was heavily influenced by Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707), and the work of his own contemporaries Charles Brooking (1723-1759) and, unsurprisingly, by Monamy (1681-1749) for whom he has often been mistaken.

The accuracy and detail of the present painting, including the change in the wind and weather portended by the clouds over the scene, clearly demonstrate Swaine's intimate knowledge of his subject. On the right, the two-decker is on the port tack and preparing to turn by putting her bows through the wind. Such is the lively detail of Swaine's picture that one can imagine the sails are banging in the moderate breeze, voices are raised to give orders, and over all can be heard the shrill whistle of the bosun's pipe. In the centre, the tiller has been pushed down to turn the ship, she is nearly head-to-wind, she has lost way and is almost stationary. On the left, the main topsail is now drawing fully and the ship is gathering way on the new, starboard tack. Urged once by the bosun's whistle, the crew are scurrying aloft to set the sails so the ship can gather speed on the new heading.

For an identical composition, see F.B. Cockett, Peter Monamy 1681-1749 and His Circle, Woodbridge, 2000, p. 101, pl. 49.