Sold....portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock C 1740, Attributed to John Wollaston.

18th century

Sold by Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

Description

Oil on canvas in a good late 18th c. giltwood frame.

Lestock looks confidentally out at the viewer, in the background, close to a shore fort, two ships-of-the-line engage in battle.

A similar,later, image of Lestock just before his death in 1746 is in Tha National Maritime Museum. This is an engraving after a portrait by Wollaston.

RICHARD LESTOCK 1679-1746 was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the defeat at the Battle of Toulon, and the subsequent court-martial, at which he was acquitted.

On 3 June 1746, just two days after his acquittal he was promoted Admiral of the Blue and given command of a large squadron. The original plan called for the launching of an assault on Quebec, but an attack on the French port of Lorient was decided instead. Despite planning difficulties, the force was landed and nearly succeeded in taking the city. The result was ultimately a failure and was viewed as such by a disappointed public, but Lestock appears to have acquitted himself well. After the success of the operation, he hoped to receive an appointment to command a spring expedition to North America, but his health suddenly declined, and he died of a stomach ailment on 13 December 1746.

COMMANDS HELD:

HMS Vulture

HMS Fowey

HMS Weymouth

HMS Panther

HMS Princess Amelia

HMS Royal Oak

HMS Kingston

HMS Somerset

HMS Grafton

HMS Boyne

HMS Neptune

BATTLES/WARS

Battle of Vélez-Málaga

Battle of Toulon (1707)

Battle of Cape Passaro

Battle of Cartagena de Indias

Battle of Toulon (1744)

JOHN WOLLASTON (active 1738-1775) was the son of a London portrait painter, also called John.

Wollaston worked in England until 1749 when he left for America, where he had considerable influence. He worked in New York 1749=52, Maryland 1753-4, Virginia c.1755-7 and Philadelphia 1758.

He moved to the west Indies in c.1758; in St. Kitts1764/5, Charleston 1767 and returned to England in 1767.

SIZE:48 x 41.25 inches inc. frame.

PROVENANCE: Burrow Hall, Lancashire.

Verso: old pencil inscription "Heirloom Harewood".

Declaration

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 1750s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA214084

Dealers Internal Reference

8731

Description

Oil on canvas in a good late 18th c. giltwood frame.

“

Lestock looks confidentally out at the viewer, in the background, close to a shore fort, two ships-of-the-line engage in battle.

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

A similar,later, image of Lestock just before his death in 1746 is in Tha National Maritime Museum. This is an engraving after a portrait by Wollaston.

fig 1. SOLD....Portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock c 1740, attributed to John Wollaston. — fig 1. Sold....portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock C 1740, Attributed to John Wollaston.

RICHARD LESTOCK 1679-1746 was an officer in the Royal Navy, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral. He fought in a number of battles, and was a controversial figure, most remembered for his part in the defeat at the Battle of Toulon, and the subsequent court-martial, at which he was acquitted.

fig 2. SOLD....Portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock c 1740, attributed to John Wollaston. — fig 2. Sold....portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock C 1740, Attributed to John Wollaston.

On 3 June 1746, just two days after his acquittal he was promoted Admiral of the Blue and given command of a large squadron. The original plan called for the launching of an assault on Quebec, but an attack on the French port of Lorient was decided instead. Despite planning difficulties, the force was landed and nearly succeeded in taking the city. The result was ultimately a failure and was viewed as such by a disappointed public, but Lestock appears to have acquitted himself well. After the success of the operation, he hoped to receive an appointment to command a spring expedition to North America, but his health suddenly declined, and he died of a stomach ailment on 13 December 1746.

fig 3. SOLD....Portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock c 1740, attributed to John Wollaston. — fig 3. Sold....portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock C 1740, Attributed to John Wollaston.

COMMANDS HELD:

HMS Vulture

HMS Fowey

HMS Weymouth

HMS Panther

HMS Princess Amelia

HMS Royal Oak

HMS Kingston

HMS Somerset

HMS Grafton

HMS Boyne

HMS Neptune

BATTLES/WARS

Battle of Vélez-Málaga

Battle of Toulon (1707)

fig 4. SOLD....Portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock c 1740, attributed to John Wollaston. — fig 4. Sold....portrait of Admiral Richard Lestock C 1740, Attributed to John Wollaston.

Battle of Cape Passaro

Battle of Cartagena de Indias

Battle of Toulon (1744)

JOHN WOLLASTON (active 1738-1775) was the son of a London portrait painter, also called John.

Wollaston worked in England until 1749 when he left for America, where he had considerable influence. He worked in New York 1749=52, Maryland 1753-4, Virginia c.1755-7 and Philadelphia 1758.