Explore the abstract of this artwork.
Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin is a 1745 oil-on-canvas painting by the English artist William Hogarth. A conversational picture, it shows Captain Lord George Graham, of the Royal Navy, in the cabin of his ship with several people.
The painting was probably commissioned by Graham to commemorate a naval battle he had fought recently. While commanding a 24-gun sixth rate, he had been one of three British ships to attack a squadron of three powerful French privateers and their prizes. The British were successful in their engagement, capturing all of the prizes, and all but one of the privateers. Lauded for his achievements, Graham was given another, larger, ship to command. The painting is probably set aboard this new command, the 60-gun HMS Nottingham, and shows Graham relaxing in the great cabin before a meal, smoking a pipe. With him are the ship's chaplain and clerk, who sing and listen to music played by a black servant. A steward brings a roast duck to the table. Two dogs are also present in the scene, one joins in the singing, the other wears a wig and reads a sheet of music.
The scene contains elements of satire and symbolism, in common with Hogarth's other works. The relaxed scene contrasts the tension of the naval battle it commemorates, with elements of humour including the officious pose and behaviour of one of the dogs, who apes Graham's official position. The steward looks out of the painting at the viewer with a smile, while obliviously tipping gravy down the chaplain's back. The positioning and depiction of Graham and the black servant invite comparisons, with Hogarth's presentation of black subjects in paintings being studied by later academics. Hogarth drew from his own experience in group portraits, and was probably influenced by an earlier cabin work by Bartolomeo Nazari. Graham's enjoyment of the painting was short-lived, he died in 1747. His family kept the portrait in their collections until 1932, when it was sold to Sir James Caird, who subsequently donated it to the National Maritime Museum, where it remains.
Lord George Graham Royal Navy oil-on-canvas sixth rate Bartolomeo Nazari prizes National Maritime Museum great cabin privateer Sir James Caird William Hogarth