Lot 1632 , Robert Pollard after Dominic Serres, line engraving, 'Relief of Gibraltar by Lord Howe on September 11th 1782, Panoramic view of the Fleet with portraits either end of Admirals Howe and Barrington', published by Copley 1

Robert Pollard after Dominic Serres, line engraving, 'Relief of Gibraltar by Lord Howe on September 11th 1782, Panoramic view of the Fleet with portraits either end of Admirals Howe and Barrington', published by Copley 1810, visible sheet 15.5 x 84cm
£100-150
Since the garrison at Gibraltar had not received any supplies since Darby's relief in April 1781, Lord Howe sailed for Gibraltar in September 1782. He took a fleet of 183 sail, 38 of which were ships of the line. Howe arrived off the Straits on 11 October and, putting the merchant ships before him, headed for the Mole. Unfortunately, most of the ships missed it and were carried east into the Mediterranean, where Howe and his men-of-war were forced to follow them. Waiting for him in Algeciras Bay, only four miles from Gibraltar, was a Franco-Spanish fleet of 48 ships of the line, and these followed Howe in turn. After some manoeuvring, the wind changed to east, which enabled Howe and the merchantmen to return to Gibraltar. The success of the manoeuvre was greatly assisted by the new code of signals based on the system of Admiral Kempenfelt. All the merchantmen moored safely between 16 and 18 October so that Gibraltar had another year's supplies.
The Serres painting formed the 'predella' originally exhibited below Copley's huge 'Siege of Gibraltar' (completed in 1791) now in the Guildhall Museum, London, though the Serres canvas no longer survives. The two flanking images of Howe and Barrington are both from circular format paintings by Copley (the former thought to be that in the NMM) which were also exhibited in the same relative positions with the Copley 'Siege' on its completion.

Sold for £340