JOSEPH ALLEN | Portrait of Lieutenant Charles Palmer, R.N., in naval uniform and wearing a seal fur overcoat, an Arctic landscape beyond

Miss Chavasse
Martyn Gregory, London

The bevelled panel is uncradled, flat and stable. The paint surface is clean and the varnish clear and even. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals a few sensitively executed scattered retouchings, mostly in the background. In overall very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An officer in the Royal Navy, born in 1792, Charles Palmer was a contemporary of the Arctic explorer William Edward Parry (1790-1855) and accompanied Parry on both his first and second voyages of discovery to the North-West Passage. Palmer first went to the Arctic in 1818 with the Spitzbergen expedition, serving as a mate on board HMS Dorothea under the command of Captain David Buchan (1780-1830). In 1819 he again volunteered for Arctic service as a Midshipman on board HMS Hecla on Parry’s first expedition to the Northwest Passage – probably the single most productive voyage in the century’s long quest for an open sea route through the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific. Sailing up Baffin Bay and into Lancaster Sound they passed 110^oW, discovering Melville Island where the expedition was forced to spend the winter in the pack ice. In 1821-23 he was promoted Lieutenant of the Hecla on Parry’s second voyage when, together with HMS Fury, the expedition sailed through Hudson’s Strait and Foxe’s Channel to examine Repulse Bay. Wintering at Winter Island and Igloolik the expedition traced the Fury and Hecla Strait to its junction with Regent Inlet, but finding that the strait remained blocked by ice throughout the summers of 1822-23, Parry decided against a third winter in the Arctic and returned to Britain in 1823.

This portrait was painted in 1821, the year of Parry’s second voyage in search of the Northwest Passage, when Palmer had been promoted to Lieutenant of the Hecla. A cape on the southern side of Melville Island is named after him.