Bonhams expects...

This market has always been dominated by private buyers and to capitalise on this, the auctioneers have for many years held a view at Cowes Week. This is certainly good PR but it hasn’t translated into as many buyers as the auctioneers would have hoped and this year it was abandoned.

Every kind of seascape from yacht scenes to battle scenes will be available at the sale where the highlight is expected to be a pair of oils – one shown above right – by Robert Dodd (1748-1815) of The Battle of Trafalgar showing the two British columns going into action and Admiral Dumanoir’s surviving French squadron escaping the carnage.

The 2ft 1in by 5ft (64cm x 1.54m) paintings are believed to be the earliest depictions of the famous sea battle on the morning of 21st October 1805. The smallest British ship to take part in the battle was HMS Pickle and it was the “gallant little Pickle” that was chosen to take home the news of the British victory and Nelson’s death. Pickle and its commander, Lieutenant John Lapenotiere raced back to London reaching the Admiralty at 1am on 22nd October. Given that the pictures are clearly dated 1805, when virtually no other British Naval officer who had been at the battle was back in England, Bonhams specialists believe it possible that it was actually Lieutenant Lapenotiere who commissioned the pictures.The pair are expected to sell at between £100,000-150,000.

The sale includes another oil of the Battle of Trafalgar, right, this time by Isle of Wight-born Thomas Buttersworth (1768-1842). The canvas depicts lines of British and Franco-Spanish ships lined up, with a sniper in the mizzentop of the Redoubtable firing the shot that mortally wounded Nelson. The picture is estimated at £50,000-80,000.