Wager's Action off Cartagena | |
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Artist | Samuel Scott |
Year | c. 1747 |
Type | Oil on canvas, history painting |
Dimensions | 86.3 cm× 124.4 cm(34.0 in× 49.0 in) |
Location | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich |
Wager's Action off Cartagena is an oil on canvas seascape history painting by the English artist Samuel Scott, from c. 1747. [1] It depicts Wager's Action in 1708, a naval a battle during the War of the Spanish Succession when the Royal Navy under Admiral Charles Wager attacked and sank ships of the Spanish treasure fleet. [2]
It was painted between 1743 and 1747, at a time when Britain and Spain were again in conflict during the War of the Austrian Succession. Centuries later the sunken galleon San José became a contentious issue as several countries staked a claim to the wreck as a treasure trove. The painting is in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. [3]