The Fighting Temeraire is a well known painting by the English artist JMW Turner, which he painted in 1838. It depicts HMS Temeraire being being towed up the River Thames to Rotherhithe, to be scrapped - The original painting was exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1839 and now hangs in the National Gallery. Turner bequeathed it to the Nation in 1851 and being one of the country's most recognised works of art, appears with a 'self portrait' of the artist on English £20 notes - The Temeraire was a 98 gun 'second rate' ship, meaning that she was a ship of the line and one of the second largest classes of warship in the British fleet. She was actually the second serving ship to bear the name, the first being a smaller French ship, which had been captured as a 'prize' in some earlier action - The new ship, built at Chatham, was mainly made of English Oak from Hainault Forest and it reputedly took 5,000 trees to construct her. She was fully rigged with a crew of around 738 men and served mostly on blockades or convoy duties. However, she is probably most famous for action immediately astern of HMS Victory, coming to Nelson's aid and capturing tow French ships in the fighting - Local artist Ken Bell has long been fascinated by this work and has reproduced it at home, in his studio in Latchley. In an effort to have the painting as near to the original as possible, he visited the National Gallery where he was able to assess its precise form and size to update this project - Painted in 2015 - Painting is 120cm X 88cm, including frame it is 130cm X 100cm - Gold frame - PLEASE NOTE - There is a viewing day on Tuesday 27th May 2025, where potential purchasers can meet the artist and refreshments will be available. The viewing day will be held at Firste Park, Winsor Lane, Kelly Bray, Callington, PL17 8HD between 10 AM & 4 PM.
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