Victorian British Naval Marine Oil Painting HMS Bombay on Fire Off Montevideo 1864 After Beechey

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Description

Large Victorian British Naval Marine Oil Painting HMS Bombay on Fire off Montevideo 1864 After Beechey
Historic 19th Century Royal … Read more Large Victorian British Naval Marine Oil Painting HMS Bombay on Fire off Montevideo 1864 After Beechey
Historic 19th Century Royal Navy Maritime Disaster Oil Painting Depicting the Burning and Abandonment of HMS Bombay
Highlights
• Late 19th-century British oil on canvas
• Depicts HMS Bombay burning off Montevideo in 1864
• British School, after Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895)
• Derived from Beechey’s Royal Academy composition of 1866
• Dramatic Royal Navy maritime disaster subject
• Sailors, rescue boats and survivors depicted
• Historic inscription relating to HMS Bombay verso
• Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame
• Framed 56.3 cm high x 71 cm wide x 3.5 cm deep
• Private marine collection provenance
• Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution included
Introduction
A dramatic and historically significant late 19th-century British naval marine oil painting depicting the catastrophic burning and abandonment of HMS Bombay off Montevideo on 14 December 1864, after the celebrated composition by Royal Navy officer and marine painter Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895).
HMS Bombay dominates the composition, her decks and rigging engulfed in flames while immense clouds of smoke rise above the vessel. In the foreground, a heavily laden ship’s boat carries escaping sailors across the dark turbulent water.
Further rescue boats surround the burning vessel, while individual survivors can be seen in the sea and broken spars and wreckage float nearby.
The dark blue-green water contrasts dramatically with pale cream, grey and ochre smoke punctuated by brilliant orange-red flames. The combination of historic subject, atmospheric colouring and narrative detail gives this Victorian marine painting considerable decorative presence.
Catalogue Details
Artist / Attribution: British School, After Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895)
Subject: The Burning and Abandonment of HMS Bombay
Historical Event: 14 December 1864
Location Depicted: River Plate, off Montevideo, Uruguay
Date: Circa 1870 / Late 19th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Genre: British Marine / Naval Historical Painting
Signature: Indistinct possible initials or mark lower right
Inscription: Old manuscript inscription relating to the Burning of H.M.S. Bombay verso
Frame: Later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame
Catalogue Note
The painting presents HMS Bombay at the height of the disaster.
The warship occupies the middle distance beneath an immense mass of pale grey, cream and ochre smoke punctuated by glowing orange-red flames. The vessel’s hull, gun ports, masts, spars and surviving rigging remain visible against the lighter smoke.
Particularly compelling is the treatment of the escaping crew. A crowded ship’s boat occupies the foreground, while further rescue boats and individual survivors are visible closer to the burning vessel.
Broken spars and floating wreckage reinforce the catastrophic nature of the scene. The dark blue-green sea creates a powerful contrast with the luminous smoke and flames above.
The numerous figures and carefully observed maritime details transform the composition from a conventional ship portrait into a dramatic Victorian narrative of maritime catastrophe, evacuation and survival.
HMS Bombay
HMS Bombay was an 84-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built of teak at Bombay Dockyard and launched on 17 February 1828.
She was converted to auxiliary screw propulsion at Chatham Dockyard in 1861 and subsequently served on the South American Station.
On 14 December 1864 fire broke out aboard the vessel near Montevideo during gunnery exercises and target practice. The blaze spread rapidly through the wooden warship and ultimately destroyed her.
Ninety-three of her complement of 619 lost their lives.
The present painting captures the desperate evacuation as sailors escaped aboard boats and through the surrounding water while HMS Bombay remained engulfed in smoke and flame.
Richard Brydges Beechey
Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895) was a Royal Navy officer and accomplished marine painter.
A son of the celebrated British portrait painter Sir William Beechey RA, his naval career provided him with extensive first-hand knowledge of ships, rigging, navigation and maritime conditions.
Following his active naval career, Beechey became closely associated with marine painting in Ireland and regularly exhibited maritime subjects at the Royal Hibernian Academy.
Beechey’s depiction of the destruction of HMS Bombay was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1866, no. 34.
Museum & Comparative Research
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, holds an important version of HMS Bombay on fire by George Cochrane Kerr inscribed:
“G. E. Kerr / After Beechey”
Another Kerr version is recorded at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth.
Royal Museums Greenwich also preserves historic photographic material associated with Beechey’s composition.
The present painting follows Beechey’s established composition. In the absence of documentary evidence identifying its painter, no attribution to George Cochrane Kerr is presently made.
The work is conservatively catalogued as:
British School, 19th Century
After Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895)
Signed & Inscribed
An indistinct possible mark or initials can be observed towards the lower-right area of the painted surface.
These cannot presently be read with sufficient confidence to identify the artist and are therefore not catalogued as a confirmed signature.
The reverse carries an old manuscript inscription relating to the Burning of H.M.S. Bombay, providing historic identification of the subject.
Frame
Presented within a later Larson-Juhl moulded gilt wood frame.
The warm gilded finish complements the dark maritime palette and luminous smoke-filled composition, giving the painting considerable presence within a traditional, country house or collected interior.
Provenance
Private marine collection, Southern England.
Subsequently curated and presented by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Dimensions
Framed:
56.3 cm high x 71 cm wide x 3.5 cm deep
Approximately 22.17 inches high x 27.95 inches wide x 1.38 inches deep


Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale.

Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are based upon the available evidence, comparative research and published reference material.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. Future documentary discoveries, technical examination or advances in academic research may refine or revise current interpretations.

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