Thomas Yates (1765–1796)

Watercolour over pen and ink, 7 1/4 x 9 1/2 in (18.5 x 24 cm), Signed and dated 1792. Inscribed with title on reverse.

The quality of this drawing displays the best of the amateur tradition in British Marine Watercolour. Henry VIII’s castle stood at the south end of Portsea Island, overlooking to the west, Spithead, later the venue for reviews of the Fleet. Yates has depicted a vessel beating into a stiff onshore breeze, which is whipping up the waves as they pound against the castle walls, with an angry sky to match. The force of the wind is well indicated by the streaming pennant and the tension of the flags.