Charles Edward Dixon (1872-1934) late 19th Century maritime watercolour, HMS Pitt , Portsmouth 1889

Charles Edward Dixon (1872-1934)

HMS Pitt, coal haulk, Portsmouth, 1889

Watercolour on paper

Signed and dated

57 x 38 cm

81 x 64 cm (frame)

Charles Edward Dixon was a prominent British marine artist, renowned for his detailed and dramatic depictions of naval scenes, sailing ships, and maritime history. Dixon's work captured both contemporary and historical seafaring subjects, including naval battles, merchant vessels, and iconic ships. He regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy and was a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. His paintings were widely published in illustrated magazines, helping to popularize his vivid portrayals of Britain's naval power during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

This watercolour is of a hulked ship, previously launched as HMS 'Trafalgar', originally designed as a 98-gun second rate but re-classified as a 106-gun first rate ship of the line in 1817. The watercolour from 1889 depicts the ship once it was converted to a coal hulk in 1857. As the 'Pitt' it was sold out of service on 15 May 1906 and was broken up in Castle’s yard at Charlton on the Thames.

The watercolour has a less finished quality than many of Dixon’s more iconic watercolours and presumably this was a sketch painted at location in Portsmouth. There is a later drawing (c1900) by Wyllie in the Royal Museums Greenwich depicting the ‘Pitt’ from the same perspective, the information for this post was taken from the RMG collections website.