CIRCLE OF THOMAS MELLISH (BRITISH ACTIVE 1760-1778)

The present work has traditionally been attributed to Isaac Sailmaker. However, the painting lacks a number of the distinctive characteristics of his output, such as his prominent use of raised spots of gold paint on the stern detailing of his ships. The colour palette also appears too vivid for Sailmaker’s work. Instead it is much more likely that the painting was executed by one of the early English marine painters working around Peter Monamy. There is a comparable view of Woolwich dated to 1748 by Thomas Mellish (fl. 1748-1778), in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (BHC1048), although the palette is more muted than the present example.

We are grateful to Michael Naxton for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.