Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on-Sea to the south. It is the northernmost coastal town in Essex.
Dominic Serres (1722–1793), also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme. Such were his connections with the English art world, that he became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and was later briefly its librarian.
Events from the year 1763 in art.
HMY Royal Caroline was a ship-rigged royal yacht. She was ordered in 1749 to replace HMY Carolina as Britain's principal royal yacht. She was built at Deptford Dockyard under the supervision of Master Shipwright John Hollond to a design by Surveyor of the Navy Joseph Allin. She was launched on 29 January 1750 and was broken up 70 years later, in 1820.
HMS Lion or Lyon was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment and launched on 20 January 1709.
John Thomas Serres was an English maritime painter who enjoyed significant success, including exhibiting extensively at the Royal Academy, and was for a time Maritime Painter to King George III.
Richard Wright was an English marine painter. An entirely self-taught artist, he first appeared as an exhibitor in London in 1760, and between that date and 1773 exhibited twenty-five works with the Incorporated Society of Artists and one with the Free Society.
Le Cheminant Watch Company is a brand that dates back to the first half of the 19th century. Originally a jeweller, it has since become principally a watch maker and, in the early 20th century, supplied chronometers and deck watches to the Royal Navy. Since the 1950s it has concentrated on watches and is currently based in Surrey, England.
HM Yacht William and Mary was a royal yacht of the Kingdom of Great Britain, named after the joint monarchs who ruled between 1689 and 1694. She was launched in 1694 and completely rebuilt in 1765. In all, she remained in service for over a century before being sold in 1801.
Harwich High and Low Lighthouses are a pair of early 19th-century towers in Harwich, Essex, which were built as leading lights to help guide vessels into the harbour. They replaced an earlier pair of lights established in the seventeenth century when Harwich was a key operational base for the Royal Navy.
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.
The Piazza at Havana is a landscape painting by the French-born British artist Dominic Serres. It depicts the scene during the British occupation of Havana in Cuba following Britain's capture of the city from Spain during the Seven Years' War. British troops in redcoats are shown parading in the Plaza Vieja while British sailors are in the foreground. Serres painted a series of works focusing on the taking of Havana for the Keppel family, three of whom led the British campaign. The title uses the Italian loan word piazza, common in English during the era, rather than the Spanish plaza.
Portrait of the Earl of Sandwich is a 1783 painting by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough depicting a full-length view of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Sandwich had recently left the post of First Lord of the Admiralty which he had held three times since 1748, having overseen British naval operations during the American War of Independence. Sandwich is shown against the backdrop of Greenwich Hospital and holds a plan of James Stuart's design for the infirmary completed in the 1760s during Sandwich's earlier term as First Lord.
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.
The Battle of Quiberon Bay is a 1779 history painting by the French-born British artist Dominic Serres. It depicts the naval Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War. The decisive victory of Admiral Hawke's Royal Navy fleet thwarted a French invasion of Britain as part of the Annus Mirabilis.
The Battle of La Houge is a 1778 painting by the Anglo-American artist Benjamin West depicting the 1692 Battle of La Hogue. Fought off the coast of Normandy the battle was decisive victory for the Royal Navy and its Dutch Allies, thwarting an expected French Invasion of England.
The Departure of Regulus is 1769 history painting by the Anglo-American artist Benjamin West. It was one of a number of classical scenes painted by West alongside his better-known depictions of more recent history.
Portrait of Sir Edward Pellew is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the British naval officer Sir Edward Pellew, produced around 1797.
Nelson Boarding the San Josef is an 1829 history painting by the British artist George Jones. It depicts the boarding and capture of the Spanish ship-of-the-line San Josef by the British Royal Navy at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797. It emphasises the role played by Horatio Nelson, the future victor of the Battle of the Nile and Battle of Trafalgar.
Harwich Lighthouse is an 1820 landscape painting by the British painter John Constable. It depicts a scene on the coast of Essex in England featuring Harwich Low Lighthouse. The lighthouse was maintained by Constable's patron General Rebow whose estate at Wivenhoe Park he also painted.
