Fleet in Douglas Bay
Date made: 1907
Artist: Holland, John
Description: John Holland is renowned for his charcoal views of the Isle of Man at the turn of the 19th century. Fleet in Douglas Bay captures the historic visit of the British Fleet to Douglas Bay in 1907. One assumes Holland drew preliminary sketches for this view whilst sat in one of the flotilla of small boats.
Like John Miller Nicholson in Douglas Head and Lighthouse, Holland incorporates several small scenes in his work. Small rowing boats and yachts jostle around the Fleet. A boat with four rowers and a cox, possibly practising for the Four-Oared Championship race to be held later at the Regatta, floats by dwarfed by the larger vessels. Slightly less athletic is the woman stepping gingerly from one boat to another.
Background:
In 1907 the six battleships and two cruisers of the First Division of the Channel Fleet, under the command of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, toured the British Isles. The pride of the Fleet sailed into Douglas Bay on the morning of 1 August 1907 to great fanfare. Vessels flying a yellow flag could be boarded by the public. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels, Mona and Tynwald, took out parties of sightseers and, “the Douglas boatmen reaped a rich harvest in conveying visitors to and from the ships”. On the first day about 4,000 visited the Fleet. In the excitement around 250 visitors were left stranded and had a nervous wait on board the battleships until launches were found to bring them back to shore!
The tour of the Channel Fleet was arguably a public relations exercise. Not by accident it was conducted at the height of the tourist season, visiting resorts such as Douglas and Blackpool. The tour helped recruitment, showed the public what their money was being spent on, and overall increased popular support for the Royal Navy.
This was a period when the race for naval supremacy between Britain, Germany, America and Japan was in full-swing. The tour, and by implication Holland’s work, may be considered a good-hearted but deliberate show of power.
Measurements: artwork: 45 cm x 80 cm
Materials: Charcoal on paper
Object name: drawing
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1993-0330
Comments
Linked Records
People: