Shipping off Porchester Castle, Hampshire

Marine paintings, especially 17th century ones, are very difficult to date with any accuracy as most artists show very little stylistic development. Here the date can be narrowed down to the reign of King Charles II and after 1674 in which year the ship, the 'Portsmouth', was built. The reason for this is that the royal ensign is flying indicating that either the King, or his brother the Duke of York, is on board. The narrowing down of the picture's date to within a decade is also helpful in establishing a little more information concerning the artist's output as records of his work during his English period are scant indeed.