John Cleveley the Elder

In the family of the present owner for at least 100 years.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has not been restored for some time and would benefit from a full restoration. The canvas has an old glue lining. This lining was most likely applied to deal with some structural damage in the sky on the left side. Some of these damages are still visible to the immediate left of the boat furthest to the left, and there is what appears to be a tear which runs six inches vertically in the sky, approximately six inches from the upper left corner. There is some very visible retouching in the upper left corner which should be safely removed. The lower left sky seems to have been cleaned slightly, which gives one an idea of the palette in the sky in the remainder of the picture, when it is cleaned. The sky throughout the remainder of the picture is in very healthy condition, as is the water and all of the boats and the figures on the boats. If a picture like this is over cleaned the rigging is the first to be damaged, yet there is no noticeable abrasion to the rigging and therefore, although the picture looks scruffy at the moment, this is a fairly straightforward project for a restorer. In order to make the most of this work the lining should be changed, which will resolve the raised cracking, stretcher marks and other surface issues. In front of the large boat furthest to the right there is a slightly visible old restoration which seems to subdue a pentiment. However, this is mostly a matter of interest and not a condition issue.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The H.M.S. Pallas was a 5th Rate ship (36 guns, 728 tons) launched at Deptford in 1757, the flagship of a new class of frigates designed for speed and maneuverability.  This new class was designed by Thomas Slade, who had been appointed Surveyor of the Navy in the early 1750s, and was built to counter a perceived superiority in French cruiser design.  The Pallas had a twentry six year career, initially patrolling the French and English coasts and the Mediterranean.  Between 1774-77, she made a series of  voyages to the coast of West Africa in order to survey and report on the forts and factories then under British control.  During this period, the second lieutenant was Gabriel Bray (1750-1823), an amateur artist who made numerous watercolor drawings of daily life on the Pallas, her crew members, and many of the places they visited.¹  In 1783, returning from Halifax, Nova Scotia to England, the Pallas developed several leaks that grew increasingly worse when heavy seas were encountered.  She was eventually run ashore on the island of São Jorge in the Azores where it was discovered that her keel and garboards were worm eaten beyond repair.  The commander at that time, Captain Christopher Parker, ordered the Pallas to be burned.

Cleveley often used the present format in his ship portraits of portraying a vessel from two or three different vantage points.  A similar example is The Royal Charlotte, An East Indiaman, in Three Positions off St. Helena, signed and dated 1772, sold Sotheby's London, April 3, 1996, lot 16.

1.  The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England has in their collection an album with over 70 of these drawings by Gabriel Bray.