Art work by Richard Eurich D.Litt. RA OBE (1903-1992) Catalogue Raisonnée: https://richardeurich.co.uk/. Contact: Philippa Bambach 07890 390633 — Photo: National Museum of the Royal Navy

Last Voyage of HMS Vanguard, Portsmouth: 4th August, 1960, No 1

1961

oil on canvas

66h x 137w (cm)

National Museum of the Royal Navy Collection, Portsmouth

Ships | Boats | Harbours | Ports

Panoramas

Commissioned Works

RA Summer Exhibitions

Recto: signed lower right

Alternatives:

The Last Voyage of HMS Vanguard, Portsmouth: 4th August, 1960, No 1 [RA]

HMS Vanguard towed to her last berth, Portsmouth, 4th August 1960 [RE sales diary]

Tags:

All Works in Public Collections

Commissioned Works

England

Hampshire

Panoramas

Portsmouth

Sets

Ships / Boats / Harbours

The South

Themes

Subject

Ministry of Defence Art Collection

WW2

battleship

cranes

fort

public collection

towing

tugs tug boat

warships

Medium

Oil

This painting depicts HMS Vanguard, the Royal Navy's last battleship, being towed out of Portsmouth harbour on its final journey to the breaker's yard. The story of its departure is well documented because it notoriously ran aground.
We have records of three other RE works depicting the departure: Last Voyage of HMS Vanguard, Portsmouth: 4th August, 1960, No 2 (1961), HMS Vanguard, 4th August 1960, Portsmouth (1961), and Study of HMS Vanguard leaving Portsmouth to be Broken Up (c1961). The last two may refer to the same work.

- REP / PC

In 2012 this work was recorded on Art UK to be in the MInistry of Defence Art Collection, but we lost track of the painting's whereabouts when in 2017 the ownership of the collection was transferred to several museums and public bodies throughout the UK.
In November 2022 the National Museum of the Royal Navy contacted us through this online catalogue to say they hold the painting in their collection.

- REP-PC

The sketch below is dated the 6th of August, 1960 but the event of HMS Vanguard being towed out of Portsmouth harbour is generally recorded as being the 4th of August. We cannot explain this discrepency.

- REP / PC

Provenance & Events

COMMISSIONED • 1961

by the Admiralty Board

EXHIBITION • 29th Apr to 13th Aug 1961

"Summer Exhibition 1961"

Royal Academy of Arts

Cat 706

IN COLLECTION • 2012

Ministry of Defence Art Collection

GIFTED • 2017

Ownership transferred from the Ministry of Defence Art Collection to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, object no. NMRN 2017/106/302

IN COLLECTION • 2022

National Museum of the Royal Navy Collection, Portsmouth

Related Works

The Last Voyage of HMS Vanguard, Portsmouth: 4th August, 1960, No 2 (c1961)

HMS Vanguard, 4th August 1960, Portsmouth (1961)