HMS NEW ZEALAND and HMS AUSTRALIA Coming to Anchor, Firth of Forth

This painting together with a further eight WL Wyllie watercolours of World War 1 scenes of “affairs at sea” was originally purchased in 1917/18 by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (1854-1922), formerly styled Prince Louis of Battenberg, and Great Britain’s First Sea Lord 1912-1914. It is thought likely that they were bought directly from Mr Wyllie, if not commissioned by the old admiral himself, and they have been in the Mountbatten family ever since. They were recently sold by Lord Ivar Mountbatten.

On the reverse of the watercolour’s backing board is the inevitable Admiralty censor’s stamp.  Applied some 3 months after the battle of Jutland it’s dated 7/9/1916 and the watercolour is certified as “Passed” by the Chief Censor, Admiralty who has initialled the stamp “Passed”. “Stopped” and “As Cut”- the alternatives on the rubber stamp – are deleted by the censor, probably because  Wyllie has done what has been seen before with some of his naval watercolours of this wartime period – he has made an attempt to delete the names with which he originally annotated his paintings.  But it’s just possible to make out below the images of the two ships themselves the names NEW ZEALAND (to the left) and AUSTRALIA (to the right): we can see a slight shine where WLW’s rubber has been at work but despite the censor’s approval, enough of the writing remains!    The watercolour is undated and so we cannot be sure of Commanding Officers’ names.

Whilst studying the watercolour in close detail it’s also possible to see that WLW has added NEW ZEALAND’s halyards, stays and the caging to her 2nd and 3rd funnels in pencil.  The painting – entitled “Returning Home” – appears to show that period following the roar and clatter and clouds of rust that accompany the rush of the cable as it roars out when a heavy ship anchors. On the compass platform the captain is pressurising the navigating officer to confirm that he has anchored in the precise position ordered; the navigator is wisely delaying an answer as he checks and re-checks his bearings!  The fo’c’sle officer is similarly

As described above this artwork is part of a series of nine Wyllie watercolors purchased directly from the artist or commissioned by Admiral Mountbatten himself. Each piece in this series provides a unique insight into naval life during WWI, making them all valuable additions to any maritime art collection.  They are of historical significance too, of course, as monsters like this no longer roam the seven seas.  www.maritimeoriginals.com and www.maritimeprints.com have an unrivalled collection for marine art collectors.