This painting sums up The War of Independence's effect on our shores
Against the backdrop of Portsmouth harbour seen from Gosport, this 18th century work of art tells a wider story of international importance.
The War of Independence that unfolded between 1775 and 1783 may have been American, but it rippled across the Atlantic Ocean onto European shores. With France weighing in on the side of the nascent US — and seizing the opportunity to try and reconquer territories that it had previously lost to Britain in India — a few naval battles took place off the Brittany coast.
In April 1782, in particular, two Royal Navy ships engaged with French vessels off Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the Channel, and HMS Foudroyant, under the command of captain John Jervis, captured the 74-gun Pégase. Shortly afterwards, the victorious British man o’ war escorted her prize into Portsmouth harbour, where hundreds of people awaited their arrival.
Among the crowd was probably Dominic Serres, one of the greatest marine painters of the late 18th century, whose son Dominique Michael served aboard Foudroyant. The artist captured the scene in a painting somewhat reminiscent of Canaletto’s style.
‘It never left the family until last year and, in fact, had been hidden in a loft'
Foudroyant, herself originally a French ship, sails ahead in all her glory, Pégase jury-rigged behind her — beaten, the flag flying under the Royal Navy jack at the stem as white as her winged figurehead — against the backdrop of Portsmouth harbour seen from Gosport.
Serres made not one, but two versions of the painting. The first is at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Jervis, who was made a Knight of Bath for the victory and would later become 1st Earl of St Vincent after defeating a Spanish fleet off the cape of the same name in 1797, probably commissioned from the painter a larger version. This was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793, but later passed down the generations and forgotten by the public.
‘It never left the family until last year and, in fact, had been hidden in a loft,’ says art dealer James Mitchell. It re-emerged in April 2025, when it was sold at Bonhams, and, now restored, is on offer with John Mitchell Fine Paintings.
This feature originally appeared in the July 1, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
