December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Watercolor, ink and graphite on paper, 16 1/4 x 21 1/2 inches; inscribed 'Yates' on reverse in graphite, in later frame. This superb watercolor view, equal in quality to the best of those by rivals Dominic Serres and Nathaniel Pocock, was exhibited by Lieutenant Thomas Yates at the Royal Academy in 1790. It depicts the ships of a Royal Navy squadron saluting a barge conveying one or more members of the Royal Family ashore, as denoted by the royal standard mounted in the stern of the boat. Unfortunately, the identity of the Royal personage(s) cannot be discerned, the features of which are hidden beneath an umbrella that provides protection from the strong midday sun. Thomas Yates 1760-1796) passed for a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1782 but resigned his commission in the peacetime service to focus on a new career as a professional artist. He specialized in battle paintings and marine views of fine quality, exhibiting nine works at the Royal Academy between 1788 and 1794. A talented artist, his career was on the rise when his life was cut short on 29 August 1796 when he was murdered by another man in a domestic dispute. Works by Yates are extremely rare due to his short working life.