Hmy Victoria & Albert Off Osborne House Royal Steam Yacht in the Solent, 19th-Century Painting in the Manner of Nicholas Condy

Details

Description

HMY Victoria & Albert off Osborne House c.1852 – Royal Steam Yacht in the Solent, 19th-Century British Marine Watercolour after … Read more HMY Victoria & Albert off Osborne House c.1852 – Royal Steam Yacht in the Solent, 19th-Century British Marine Watercolour after Nicholas Condy
Overview
A finely observed early Victorian marine watercolour showing HMY Victoria and Albert (I), the first purpose-built British royal steam yacht, steaming through the Solent off Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The water is alive with attendant small craft and yachts, underlining the status of the royal vessel and the importance of the occasion.
Painted in watercolour on paper by a 19th-century British School hand working in the manner of Nicholas Matthew Condy, this is a classic Victorian marine subject with strong royal, naval and Isle of Wight interest, enhanced by unusually good documentation and provenance.
Subject and Dating
The picture depicts HMY Victoria and Albert (I) under way off Osborne House during the early 1850s, almost certainly around 1852. Osborne had by then become Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s favoured seaside residence, and the Solent off East Cowes the natural stage for Cowes Week and Royal Yacht Squadron regattas.
The date and identification are supported not only by stylistic evidence but also by archival correspondence mounted to the reverse from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Royal Archives, Windsor Castle. These letters, both dated 1989, confirm the vessel as HMY Victoria and Albert (I) and discuss the details of her configuration.
Composition
The composition is built around a broadside view of the royal yacht crossing the Solent. Her ornate paddle boxes, three masts, single funnel and side-paddle layout are clearly articulated, giving a precise ship portrait at the heart of the scene.
In the foreground, open boats and cutters are packed with spectators who have rowed out to witness the passage of the royal yacht. Additional sailing vessels and small steam craft occupy the middle distance, carrying the eye across the water and creating a convincing sense of movement and bustle.
To the left, above a low band of trees, the long stuccoed façade and distinctive towers of Osborne House anchor the view on the East Cowes shoreline and firmly associate the scene with the world of the royal court.
Technique
The work is executed in transparent watercolour, combining disciplined linear work with soft atmospheric handling. Hulls and rigging are drawn with crisp precision, while sky and water are treated with lighter, more fluid washes to suggest changing light and a gently moving sea.
Touches of colour are used sparingly but effectively to enliven the figures, craft and architectural details without distracting from the primary focus on the royal yacht. The overall effect is balanced, refined and entirely consistent with competent mid-19th-century British marine practice.
HMY Victoria and Albert (I)
Launched in 1843, HMY Victoria and Albert (I) was the first purpose-built steam yacht for the British royal family. Combining side paddle wheels with a full sailing rig, she embodied modern royal travel and British maritime ambition at the beginning of the steam age. In 1854 she was rebuilt and renamed HMY Osborne.
In this view she is shown in profile with a modest head of steam, her decorated paddle boxes, three masts and single funnel clearly delineated. She flies the Admiralty fouled-anchor flag from the mainmast and a red ensign aft, indicating that she is serving in an Admiralty flagship or reviewing capacity rather than actually carrying the Queen, who would normally be indicated by the Royal Standard.
Historical Context and Iconography
The conjunction of the royal residence at Osborne House, the crowded spectacle of small boats and yachts, and the Admiralty flag at the mainmast strongly suggests a major Solent event off Osborne. The scene is almost certainly related to Cowes Week or a Royal Yacht Squadron regatta of the early 1850s, when the royal family, the Admiralty and the yachting world regularly converged on these waters.
As such, the painting records not only a royal vessel but an entire social and maritime setting: royal leisure, naval ceremony and fashionable yachting culture concentrated in the Solent off the Isle of Wight.
Documentation and Research
To the reverse of the frame are mounted original letters from the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Archives, both dated 1989. These letters:
confirm the identity of the vessel as HMY Victoria and Albert (I);
comment on structural elements, including the round deckhouse aft and the form of the funnel;
explain the significance of the Admiralty flag and the absence of the Royal Standard in interpreting the role of the ship.
For a privately owned Victorian watercolour, this level of institutional confirmation is unusual and highly desirable. It anchors the work securely in its historical context and supports the reading of the scene as a royal and Admiralty spectacle off Osborne.
Attribution
The painting is an anonymous work of the 19th-century British School, executed in the manner of Nicholas Matthew Condy. It displays many of the qualities associated with that circle: accurate hull forms, believable rigging, well-judged perspective across crowded water and a sure sense of the relationship between large and small craft.
The comparison with Condy is made on stylistic grounds and is not presented as a firm attribution. The picture sits comfortably alongside named Victorian marine painters and will appeal to collectors who value both the clarity of traditional ship portraiture and a lively sense of narrative.
Signature
The watercolour is unsigned, with no visible initials or monogram. Identification rests instead on the quality of the draughtsmanship, the stylistic traits of the period and, importantly, the accompanying letters from the National Maritime Museum and Royal Archives.
The absence of a signature is entirely typical of many British School watercolours of the mid-19th century and in this case is more than compensated for by the strength of the subject, the quality of execution and the supporting documentation.
Frame and Presentation
The work is presented in an ornate gilt moulded frame, recently refitted using a quality Larson-Juhl decorative moulding that is entirely in keeping with the period and subject. The frame provides a rich, sympathetic surround that enhances the royal and marine character of the image.
A new white mount with gold border has been professionally installed, giving a clean and elegant window around the painting and echoing the gilded frame. The glazing is Artglass AR 70, a high-grade low-reflection, UV-filtering glass that greatly reduces glare while offering improved protection against light damage, a thoughtful choice for a 19th-century work on paper.
The reverse is neatly finished with a good quality hanging cord. The picture is ready to hang and presents to a high standard.
Dimensions
The framed work measures approximately 62 cm in width, 52 cm in height and 3.5 cm in depth. This is an ideal cabinet picture scale, allowing space for the complex marine detail while remaining easy to accommodate in domestic or office interiors.
Provenance
The painting was recorded in the ownership of Mr Dovey, Mid Glamorgan, in 1989. It was subsequently exhibited at the Lord Hill Museum, where it was shown under the title “HMY Victoria & Albert off Osborne House – A Royal Yacht in the Solent.”
It later entered a private collection in Cardiff, where a notable auction house label was applied verso. It is now curated and offered by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD. The original letters from the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Archives remain mounted to the reverse, providing authoritative confirmation of the subject and further detail on the vessel.
Taken together, the private ownership record, museum exhibition history, auction label and institutional correspondence form an unusually strong and attractive provenance for a Victorian watercolour.
Collecting Appeal
This is a work of genuine royal and maritime interest, uniting the first royal steam yacht, the royal residence at Osborne and the lively spectacle of Cowes and Solent yachting in the early steam age. It has clear appeal for collectors of royal memorabilia, naval and marine art, Isle of Wight and Cowes Week material, and Victorian watercolours more generally.
The presence of museum and Royal Archives documentation, together with a named exhibition history, elevates the painting beyond the ordinary run of British School marine watercolours and provides a ready-made story for display and discussion. Coupled with the fresh, professional presentation in a Larson-Juhl frame with conservation-aware glazing, it is both historically significant and immediately decorative. See less