JEWELLERY, DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS AUCTION Tuesday, 25 March 2025 - 10:00 AM start

Richard Barnett (Ball) Spencer (1812-1874) ‘The Bombardment of Algiers (1816) Under the Command of Lord Exmouth and the Dutch Fleet’,

Lot Details

oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right ‘Richard B Spencer, 1866’. Entitled verso. 1450 x 1060mm. In original decorative gilded cedar frame. Note: This major 19th century maritime battle scene depicts a famous Anglo/Dutch marine bombardment of Algiers in 1816 in an attempt to end slavery in the Algiers where eventually around 3000 slaves were set free. Led by Commander in Chief Baron Exmouth (Edward Pellow (1757-1833) an already highly decorated officer, he became 1st Viscount and Lord Exmouth after this famous success. The artist Richard Barnett Spencer (also known as Richard ‘Ball’ Spencer as his mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Ball) painted this work in1866 most likely as a commission in keeping with the original major painting of this scene painted by a contemporary marine artist of his, George Chambers (1803-1840) in 1836. This most famous work by Chambers was commissioned for the British Naval Gallery in 1836 and now resides in the British Maritime Museum. While Chambers enjoyed the patronage of King William IV, Spencer was known to complete private commissions although this work appears to be of a similar standard as evidenced by this dramatic marine painting. Note: This painting has older professional repair. A maritime work of similar stature by this artist ‘Breaking the Line at Trafalgar’ recently sold at Bonhams auctions, London for 14,025 GBP. Provenance – English/NZ, Private Estate