The Ship The Golden Hind- Original Illustration Art By George Tuckwell For "Fighting Ships"

Golden Hind was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as Pelican, but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden hind (a female red deer). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage. A full-sized, seaworthy reconstruction is in London, on the south bank of the Thames. On artist board, unframed 10.5" by 7.5" with some minor spotting and signature in pencil and notations in pen on front and back by the artist. One of a kind illustration art for the book "Fighting Ships".

On 1 March 1579, now in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador, Golden Hind challenged and captured the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. This galleon had the largest treasure captured to that date: over 360,000 pesos (equivalent to around £480m in 2017). The treasure took six days to transship and included 26 tons of silver, half a ton of gold, porcelain, jewelry, coins, and jewels.
On 26 September 1580, Francis Drake sailed his ship into Plymouth Harbour with 56 of the original crew of 80 left aboard. The ship was unloaded at Trematon Castle nearby, supervised by the Queen's guards. The final treasure also included six tons of cloves from the Spice Islands, at the time worth their weight in gold. Elizabeth herself went aboard Golden Hind, which was then permanently at Deptford on the south bank of the Thames, where she had requested it be placed on permanent display as the first 'museum ship'. There, she shrewdly asked the French ambassador to bestow a knighthood on Drake. Over half of the proceeds went to the crown - her share of the treasure came to at least £160,000: "enough to pay off her entire government debt and still have £40,000 left over to invest in a new trading company for the Levant. Her return, and that of other investors, was more than £47 for every £1 invested, or 4,700%."

George Arthur Tuckwell, artist (1919-2000). Not much is known about the artist except the few works of art that have come to the market. It appears that he was also a book illustrator or worked on several books, including one titled "Fighting Ships" a story of the history of ships from the very early period to modern sea and air ships. This is a collection of George Tuckwell watercolors from that book. Tuckwell's draftsmanship of the ships are clean and well executed. His images of people follow his artistic lean toward the abstract. images for a book entitled Fighting Ships.

Notes: On artist board with slight smudges and pencil and ink notations by the artist George Tuckwell, signed.

$25 - $50

10.5" x 0.01" x 7.5"

Fine Art, Works on Paper

20%

Richard Gabriel | (781) 883-6639 | gabriel@calixbooks.com

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