The composition is a striking example of his interest in the 1810s in the panorama or 'bird's eye' view. In the foreground a lively gathering of people including sailors dance and wave in celebration of the arrival of a major fleet of ships anchored in the Devonport Docks. It seems to capture the victorious mood following the end of the Napoleonic Wars when Plymouth had been threatened with invasion.

Provenance

Captain Meeking; by descent; Christie's, 1973; Sotheby's, 2006.