Sir Joshua Reynolds was an English painter who specialised in portraits. Art critic John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting, which depended on idealisation of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769.
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy.
Augustus Edwin John was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sargent and Charles Wellington Furse "... was over. The age of Augustus John was dawning." He was the younger brother of the painter Gwen John.
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, it has no general admission charge; there are admission charges for most side-gallery temporary exhibitions, usually supplemented by many loaned works from other museums.
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, PC was a British Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1755 to 1782. He saw action in command of various ships, including the fourth-rate Maidstone, during the War of the Austrian Succession. He went on to serve as Commodore on the North American Station and then Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station during the Seven Years' War. After that he served as Senior Naval Lord and then Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet.
Portrait of Mai (Omai) (also known as Portrait of Omai, Omai of the Friendly Isles or simply Omai) is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Omai, a Polynesian visitor to England, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, completed about 1776.
Mary Fox, Baroness Holland, known as Lady Mary Fox from 1766–74, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat from the Mac Giolla Phádraig dynasty and Fox family. She is best known for being the portrait subject of several notable 18th-century artists, including Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds.
George Webster was a 19th-century British Marine Art painter. He toured extensively and painted seascapes of the places he visited. His work was exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Academy.
Nelly O'Brien was a courtesan, best known for having been painted by the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. She is not to be confused with the later Irish artist Nelly O'Brien.
The Battle of Camperdown is a 1799 history painting by the American-born painter John Singleton Copley. It depicts the conclusion to the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797, which was fought in the North Sea between fleets of the Royal Navy and the Batavian Navy during the War of the First Coalition. A decisive British victory, Copley's painting shows British Admiral Adam Duncan accepting the surrender of the Batavian Admiral Jan Willem de Winter. Its full title is The Surrender of the Dutch Admiral de Winter to Admiral Duncan at the Battle of Camperdown.
Portrait of John Burgoyne is a 1766 portrait painting by the English artist Joshua Reynolds of the British soldier, politician and playwright John Burgoyne, best known for his later service in the American War of Independence.
Portrait of Lord Moira is a portrait painting by the English artist Sir Joshua Reynolds of the Irish soldier and politician Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, then known as the Earl of Moira.
Portrait of Maria Fitzherbert is a 1788 portrait painting by the British artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Coronation Portrait of George III is a portrait painting of 1762 by the Scottish artist Allan Ramsay depicting the British monarch George III in his coronation robes. George's coronation had taken place on 22 September 1761 at Westminster Abbey, where he was crowned alongside his wife Queen Charlotte. The new king had inherited the crown from his grandfather George II in 1760 at the age of 22.
Portrait of Archduke Charles is an 1819 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence of the Austrian general Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. A member of the House of Habsburg he was the younger brother of Francis I of Austria. During the Napoleonic Wars he has commanded Austrian forces in the Allied coalitions against the French Empire. He won a notable victory against Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809 before his defeat at the Battle of Wagram.
The Battle of Trafalgar is an 1836 history painting by the British artist Clarkson Stanfield. It depicts the 1805 naval Battle of Trafalgar in which the Royal Navy led by Horatio Nelson defeated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. The painting was commissioned by the United Service Club and represented a major milestone in Clarkson's career.
Portrait of Horatio Nelson is a 1781 portrait painting by the Italian-born English artist John Francis Rigaud depicting the British sailor Horatio Nelson. Later a celebrated admiral, known for his victories at the Battle of the Nile and Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson was at this time a young captain in the Royal Navy. It is occasionally known as the Young Nelson.
Portrait of Admiral Rodney or Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes is a 1783 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough featuring the British admiral George Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney. It depicts his April 1782 victory at the Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean Sea during the American War of Independence. Rodney led the Royal Navy to a decisive victory over the French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse by "breaking the line". Rodney is shown on the deck of the de Grasse's captured flagship Ville de Paris with the ship's Fleur-de-lis ensign behind him, as smoke from the battle swirls in the background. In 1788 the artist's nephew Gainsborough Dupont produced a mezzotint based on the picture.
The Capture of the Chevrette is an 1802 history painting by the French-born British artist Philip James de Loutherbourg. It depicts the cutting out of the French Navy's corvette Chevrette in 1801 during the Napoleonic Wars. The Chevrette was moored in Camaret Bay in Brittany under the protection of the artillery of shore batteries. Ship's boats from four ships of the British Royal Navy squadron blockading Brest, the Robust, Doris, Beaulieu and Uranie, moved in a cutting out move to storm the ship, overpower its French crew and take it out into British control.
