| Box B: RYS TABLE PLACEMATS (11¾" x 8¾") |
1. AMERICA racing off Cowes 1851 by T S Robins
2. MIRAGE by A W Fowles
3. ALARM off the Eddystone by A W Fowles
4. ERMINIA running past the Castle by C Gregory
A Set of Tablemats to commemorate the America’s Cup Jubilee held at Cowes in August 2001 – these paintings depict Yachts owned by Members of the Royal Yacht Squadron circa 1851
The Schooner Yacht ‘America’ racing off Cowes, 1851
by Thomas Sewell Robins (1814-80)
30½ x 47½ in. Oil on Canvas. Signed and dated 1851
In 1851 AMERICA visited Cowes and won the RYS Cup of One Hundred Sovereigns (£100) in a race that was open to the yachts of all nations. This painting is believed to represent the race at a point before several of the yachts, led by the small cutter VOLANTE (possibly the yacht flying the white racing flag), had broken away to sail round the Nab Lightship, leaving AMERICA and the others to continue on their existing course. In the left distance behind the yachts is what appears to be Culver Cliff. All the yachts flying racing flags from their mastheads were participants. It is also possible to make out the large spectator fleet in the distance.
The yacht alongside and behind AMERICA in the picture is flying the pennant of the Royal Yacht Squadron Commodore – the Earl of Wilton’s yacht XARIFA was a 185 ton schooner and was on the RYS List 1835 – 52. The RYS Committee followed the race in the paddle steamer QUEEN, one of many local ferries hired as excursion vessels on the day.
Thomas Sewell Robins (1810 –1880) was mainly a watercolour artist but also painted in oils. He is chiefly remembered for his yachting scenes; although based in London, where he exhibited at the Royal Academy, he did many scenes of Cowes. Admitted to the Royal Academy Schools in 1829, his professor for painting was Thomas Phillips and his lecturer for perspective JMW Turner. This is not the only Robins picture of America and it is not known whether this one was painted from impressions and sketches actually made on the 22nd August 1851.
‘Mirage’, a schooner of 200 tons
by Arthur Wellington Fowles (1815 –1883)
27 x 40 in. Oil on Canvas
The Isle of Wight artist Arthur Fowles concentrated on yachting scenes and on Royal occasions such as Queen Victoria’s visit to Cherbourg in 1858. It depicts the schooner MIRAGE which was built by Thomas Inman in 1869. There were three cutters from the Inman yard competing against AMERICA in the 1851 race. MIRAGE was built for the 3rd Marquess or Ormonde who was later to succeed HRH The Prince of Wales as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron on His Royal Highness’s accession to the throne as King Edward VII in 1901. Lord Ormonde, who gained his master’s certificate in 1879, cruised MIRAGE all over the world, visiting the arctic and going as far north as Spitzbergen. Lord Ormonde sold her in 1880, his new MIRAGE was a steam yacht.
Alarm off the Eddystone
by Arthur Wellington Fowles (1815 – 1883)
19¾ x 29½ in. Oil on Canvas. Signed.
ALARM is shown after she was altered in 1852. ALARM was one of the most famous of the early Squadron yachts, owned by Joseph Weld Esq. Of Lulworth Castle. She was built by Thomas Inman in 1830, winning several King’s Cups before the tonnage rules were altered to open the race up to smaller yachts. She raced AMERICA as a 193 ton, 84 feet long cutter. Probably as a result of AMERICA’S influence, Joseph Weld had her lengthened by 20 ft at the bow, which was remodelled, and rigged as a schooner in 1852. This increased her tonnage to 248 tons.
In the race of 1851 against AMERICA, ALARM retired when she went to the assistance of ARROW which had run aground. At that time she was a cutter and James Steers said of her, in his journal kept aboard AMERICA at Cowes, ‘On Thursday the cutter ‘Alarm’ came up and passed close to us. She is an odd looking craft, very full forward and about 14 feet rake to her stern post, plumb forward.’
The Yacht ‘Erminia’ RYS running past the Castle
by Charles Gregory (1810 – 1896)
26 x 39½ in. Oil on Canvas
‘Erminia’ a topsail schooner of 270 tons, is shown passing the Royal Yacht Squadron Castle. Erminia had five owners who were RYS Members and she was on the Squadron List at various dates between 1850 and 1884. Originally built by William Camper at Gosport in 1849 for the 1st Earl of Ellesmere, who was elected to the club in 1825 as Lord Francis Leveson-Gower, she was sold into foreign ownership by the 5th Lord Dufferin in 1863. She came back onto the Squadron List in 1866, owned by Sir Allen Young who lengthened her by ten feet from her original 92.8 feet two years later. At the time of the 1851 race William Camper had become a popular builder of yachts and had three among those entered to race against AMERICA in 1851.
The club also has a picture of the Castle by Gregory who was a particularly fine water colourist of genre, landscape and marine subjects. His son George was also an artist painting marine and coastal scenes but had a freer, less meticulous style than his father. A Gregory picture of the yacht AMERICA has recently come to light but it is unclear whether it is a contemporary work by Charles or a later one done by George.
These table mats are £45.00 per box plus postage and packing. to order please email: mail@royalyachtsquadron.org
|
Email this page to a friend
|
