The Chase of the Frigate HMS Brilliant

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John Bentham-Dinsdale
The Chase of the Frigate HMS Brilliant
20th Century

About the Item

Oil on canvas, signed lower right and signed and inscribed on reverse. Measuring 31.5" x 43.25" including the frame. (Born in Yorkshire, England in 1927; died in 2008). Dinsdale painted the sea and great ships of the era when “Britannia ruled the waves” with her fleets of clipper and fighting ships whose huge white sails took men across the seas of the world. Dinsdale loved both the sea and the ships and professed he really only felt at home on the blustery east coast of England near the sea that he loved and painted so well. Dinsdale’s early years gave no indication that he would eventually be an artist, nor that he would excel as a marine painter. His mother was one of the many daughters of J.H. Bentham, a liberal social reformer; his father was a wine merchant. After attending Ashville College, Dinsdale spent five years at the School of Architecture in Leeds, graduating with a Dip. Arch, A.R.I.B.A. During World War II, he was a Commissioned Officer and pilot in the Royal Air Force. When the war ended, Dinsdale found work in the theatre, which had always been a passion of his. He designed scenery for a number of repertory companies in London’s West End and, at one point, ran his own company. An opening in British television came along and in 1956, he was made Assistant Designer with Associated Television in London. Three years later, he was Head of Design and Construction for Tyne Tees Television on Newcastle. Dinsdale had been painting virtually since he could hold a brush, but it was not until 1965, having moved back to Yorkshire, that he made a full-time commitment to marine painting and historical research. A founding member of the British Sea Painters Group in 1970, Dinsdale is included in Marine Painting by Omell and 20th Century British Marine Painters by D. Brooke-Hart. His work has been widely exhibited in Europe, Australia, Canada, the United States and the Far East. Dinsdale had his first one-man show in London in 1974. Sir Charles Cayzer bought one of his paintings and presented it to the H.M.S. Camperdown, a 19th-century Royal Navy battleship. In 1982, a painting by Dinsdale was accepted and hung in the Vancouver Municipal Galleries, and his work was listed and illustrated in the Dictionary of 20th Century Marine Art. Dinsdale’s wide-ranging research resulted in him painting not only English clipper ships, but American ones as well. Aided by his extensive marine library, he would make a few preliminary sketches, before developing his canvases. The sea in all its’ moods is shown in his paintings. The water has depth and sparkle; it pulses with movement and light under the action of the wind. The ships rest solidly in the water even as they careen under the force of the wind and waves, and are accurately depicted down to the detail of their rigging and accoutrements. John Bentham-Dinsdale carried on the English tradition of Masterly marine painting. On 26 July 1798 the small frigate Brilliant fell in with two large and well armed French frigates (the Vertu 40- guns and the Régénérée 40- guns) (Brilliant had only 26- guns). Both gave chase and Brilliant made all speed to be away. After a long and close chase in which Brilliant jettisoned anchors and all available, however it became obvious to her commander Capt Henry Blackwood she would be overtaken so he hauled his ship across the bows of the Régénérée and fired a broadside with so much unexpected damage that during the night Brilliant got away.

Creator:
John Bentham-Dinsdale (1927, British)
Creation Year:
20th Century
Dimensions:
Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 43.25 in (109.86 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
Medium:
Oil
Movement & Style:
Victorian
Period:
20th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Wiscasett, ME
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU506313527652