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The Fleet Off the Coast, Beachy Head

c. 1790–1805
(British, 1760–1810)
England, 18th century
watercolor with graphite underdrawing
Sheet: 34.4 x 48.4 cm (13 9/16 x 19 1/16 in.)
Gift of Lowell Libson in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin Jr. 2011.411
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Beachy Head, the site depicted in this drawing, worked its way into popular culture and literature around the time that Samuel Atkins made the work, including a song of the Royal Navy and a poem by Charlotte Turner Smith, a contemporary of the artist.

Description

This watercolor depicts the breathtaking headlands of Beachy Head, the highest, most dramatic chalk sea cliffs in the United Kingdom. A marine painter active during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Samuel Atkins patriotically associated Britain’s identity with its coastal geography and famous navy. A fleet of sailing vessels is seen in the distance in full sail, suggesting a rare moment of the entire fleet’s departure.
The Fleet Off the Coast, Beachy Head

The Fleet Off the Coast, Beachy Head

c. 1790–1805

Samuel Atkins

(British, 1760–1810)
England, 18th century

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