Lot 1639 , William Sharp after John Trumbull, line engraving, 'The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the storming of the 27 of November 1781', published by Trumbull 1799, sheet overall 56 x 77cm

William Sharp after John Trumbull, line engraving, 'The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the storming of the 27 of November 1781', published by Trumbull 1799, sheet overall 56 x 77cm
£150-200
The painting depicts the events of the night of November 26, 1781, when British troops made a sortie against the enemy batteries. The death of the Spanish officer Don Jose de Barboza is the focal point of the painting. He fell mortally wounded and died near his post refusing assistance after having been abandoned by his troops. He is portrayed as rejecting the aid of General George Eliott, commander of the British troops.

In 1782, the siege was lifted, and Trumbull's friend Antonio de Poggi, an artist and dealer based in London who had been in the besieged garrison, told him of an earlier incident, which had occurred in November 1781. Trumbull had been engaged in a series of paintings based on the American Revolution, which had been criticized in London. He saw the subject of the Siege as one which he could demonstrate that he supported British heroism as well.
Trumbull laboured on the composition, over many sketches and three large completed canvases. As the project progressed, Trumbull's ambitions for it to be his big breakthrough to major patronage grew too. He refused large offers for the picture, preferring to exhibit it privately for admission fees.

Sold for £280