A stalwart ship of the British Royal Navy, a Third Rate Warship with a steeped fighting beak platform and approximately 74 guns sits at anchor within a river estuary, waiting for either orders or opportunity to serve the Crown. The War with the American Colonies had ended four years earlier, and the U.S. was just signing the Constitution the year this work was painted. The artist Pocock himself served aboard a similar ship during some of his Royal Navy career, and may well have known this specific ship depicted. The scene is far more than a simple ship portrait, with a complete composition of small boat activity, men on the headland shore and a beautiful yet subtle atmosphere and waterway.
Works available by Pocock, and for that matter any of the First and Second generations of British Marine painters are extremely rare in public markets, and have been steadily gaining appreciation as fine art works and investments for years. The strength of this single painting, with its detail and excellent overall composition makes it apparent why such works have earned an improved standing within art collectors of all fields. This is one to possess, treasure and enjoy, as the people of Pocock's time would have certainly done as well.
