The Great Eastern Under Weigh, July 23rd, 1865: Escort and other Ships, H.M.S. Terrible, H.M.S. Sphinx, The Hawk and Revised: The Caroline
1865–66
Medium
Watercolor over graphite with touches of gouache (bodycolor)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 1/4 × 12 1/2 in. (18.4 × 31.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cyrus W. Field, 1892
Accession Number
92.10.62
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this delicate watercolor over graphite, heightened with touches of gouache Robert Charles Dudley captures a pivotal maritime moment: the colossal steamship *Great Eastern* setting sail on July 23, 1865, escorted by H.M.S. *Terrible*, H.M.S. *Sphinx*, *The Hawk*, and *The Caroline*. Created between 1865 and 1866, the intimate 7¼ × 12½-inch sheet exemplifies 19th-century maritime drawing techniques, where precise graphite underdrawing allows for luminous watercolor washes and opaque gouache accents to evoke the drama of sea and sail. The scene commemorates the *Great Eastern*'s role in the t...
About the Artist
Robert Charles Dudley · 1813–1913
British, 1826–1909