Nicholas Pocock

Nicholas Pocock, O.W.S. (Bristol 1740-1821 Maidenhead) Four views of Bristol: View of St. Mary Redcliffe Church, near the sea banks, Bristol; View of the Avon and Bristol Channel; View of Clifton Hill from sea banks, near Bristol; and View of the Hotwell, Bristol (all illustrated) the second and third signed and dated 'N Pocock/1782' (lower right); the fourth signed and dated 'N Pocock/1782' (lower left) pencil, pen and grey ink and watercolour, on paper 10 x 15 in. (25.4 x 38.2 cm.) (4)Four in the lot VARIOUS PROPERTIES F. Greenacre, Marine Artists of Bristol, Nicholas Pocock 1740-1821, Joseph Walter 1783-1856, Bristol, 1982. D. Cordingly, Nicholas Pocock 1740-1821, London, 1986, pp. 38-41, the first ill. pp. 14-15, pl. 5, the second ill, p. 23, pl. 23. The first and third, London, Royal Academy, 1782, nos. 504 & 513.

Nicholas Pocock (British, 1740-1821) The Blue Squadron Off the Downs, signed lower right "N. Pocock 1813", oil on canvas, 19-3/8 x 29 in.; modern frame, retouch primarily in water and scattered in sky affecting approximately 10% of surface, crackle, varnish with abrasions, accretion Lot Notes: Exhibited: N.R. Omell, London (exhibition label verso)

Nicholas Pocock (1740-1821) British. ‘A VIEW OF THE TRYALL, WILLIAM SAUNDERS Comm,dr, Watercolour and Pencil, fully Signed and Dated; July 1779, extensively Inscribed with Title, and ‘Length of Keel Strait Rabit, Seventy Feet’’ and ‘Breadth of the Beam, Twenty Seven Feet’’, 14.5” x 20.5”.

Nicholas Pocock (British, 1740-1821) The Battle of Cape Santa Maria the H.M.S. Indefatigable and her consorts H.M.S. Lively , H.M.S. Medusa and H.M.S. Amphion capturing the Spanish squadron and their treasure off Cape Santa Maria on October 5th 1804. oil on canvas 36-1/2 x 55 in. (92.7 x 139.7 cm.) The Battle of Cape Santa Maria took place off the southern Portuguese coast, in which a British squadron under the command of Commodore Graham Moore attacked a Spanish squadron commanded by Brigadier Don José de Bustamante y Guerra, without declaration of war between the Britain and Spain. Under the terms of a secret convention Spain had to pay 72 million francs annually to France, until it declared war on Britain. The British had learned of the treaty, and knew it was likely that Spain would declare war soon. Bustamante set sail from Montevideo on 9 August 1804 with four frigates loaded with gold and silver, as well as other valuable cargo. On 22 September Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood ordered Captain Graham Moore, commanding the 44-gun frigate HMS Indefatigable , to intercept and detain the Spanish ships, peacefully, if possible. At dawn on 5 October, the Spanish frigates were sighted off the coast of Portugal. At 7 a.m. they sighted the four British frigates. Bustamante ordered his ships into line of battle, and within an hour the British came up in line, to windward of the Spaniards. Commodore Moore, sent Lieutenant Ascott to the Spanish flagship Medea , to explain his orders. Bustamante naturally refused to surrender, and impatient of delays, at 10 a.m. Commodore Moore ordered a shot be fired ahead over the bow of Medea . Almost immediately a general exchange of fire broke out. Within ten minutes the magazine of the Mercedes exploded destroying the ship (the moment depicted in this painting), and killing all but 40 of her 240 crew. Within half an hour the Santa Clara and the Medea had surrendered, and the Fama broke away trying to flee, the H.M.S. Medusa quickly followed. However, Moore ordered the faster H.M.S. Lively to pursue, capturing the Fama a few hours later. Spain declared war on Great Britain on 14 December 1804, only to suffer a catastrophic defeat less than a year later at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805.

Nicholas Pocock (British, 1740-1821) The Avon at Bristol with Clifton Wood seen from Sea Banks signed 'N. Pocock' (lower right) oil on canvas 44.4 x 66.6cm (17 1/2 x 26 1/4in). EXHIBITED: Bristol Museums and Art Gallery, 27 March – 26 October 1997 'From Bristol to the Sea' - Artists, the Avon Gorge and Bristol Harbour 1750-1950. On the right a ship is being built in Lime Kiln Dock. The terrace of houses above the Hotwell Road obscures Thomas Goldney's garden buildings which are a prominent feature in Pococks etchings. Today the S.S. Great Britain would be just beyond the shed above the 40 oarsmen. Francis Geenacre writes - 'it is always especially exciting to see Pococks that demonstrate so perfectly both his own experience as a mariner and ship's captain and the problems of getting a vessel into Bristol'. We are grateful to Francis Geenacre for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.