1744 - 1813
Canadian
Battle of Trafalgar
oil on canvas, 1807 - 1808
on verso titled on the National Gallery of Canada exhibition label and the Hudson’s Bay Company Collection label
82 3/4 x 53 1/2 in, 210.2 x 135.9 cm
Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000 CAD
Sold for: $133,250
Preview at:
PROVENANCE
Commissioned by William McGillivray for the North West Company
Collection of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada
LITERATURE
Margaret Arnett MacLeod, “The Riddle of the Paintings,” The Beaver, December 1948, reproduced page 9
John Andre, William Berczy: Co-founder of Toronto, 1967, discussed pages 89 – 90, reproduced unpaginated plate
Mary Macaulay Allodi et al., Berczy, National Gallery of Canada, 1991, discussed pages 205 – 206, reproduced page 205
EXHIBITED
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Berczy, November 8, 1991 – January 5, 1992, traveling to the Musée du Québec, Quebec City, March 17 – May 17, 1992, and Glenbow Museum, Calgary, June 13 – August 9, 1992, catalogue #74
Battle of Trafalgar is based on an aquatint by Robert Dodd (1748 – 1815), recomposed by William von Moll Berczy for a grand vertical composition to match the dimensions of his portrait of Lord Horatio Nelson (lot 22). The extensive title of the print, Victory of Trafalgar, in the Rear, This View of the total defeat of the Combined Fleets of France and Spain, with the Tenders of the British Fleet saving their conquered Enemies from the Flames of their own Vessel…, describes a benevolent scene following the Royal Navy’s decisive victory off Cape Trafalgar, near the Strait of Gibraltar. The masts of the painting’s central ship have been snapped off and float in the water while another ship’s fiery inferno and billowing smoke give the scene a bright orange glow. The triumphant British vessels circle in behind with flags flying, coming to rescue the enemy sailors adrift.
For more information on William von Moll Berczy in PDF format, please click here.
Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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