Off Barbados shows us a British war ship with cannons at the ready, complete with the British Royal Ensign. It most likely depicts an event in the naval history of the Napoleonic War, possibly the dramatic chase scene of 1805, which led up to the Battle of Trafalgar, when Lord Nelson pursued Admiral Villeneuve to the West Indies. This painting is an excellent example of Buttersworth’s English period, from 1840-1845, when his choice of subject matter and painting style closely resembled that of his father Thomas Buttersworth. 

More information about this painting...

This work is framed in its orignal frame.

Provenance:

Private collection, Boston, Massachusetts
To Vose Galleries, inventory no. 32069, June 1997
To private collection, Manchester, Massachusetts, May 1998 to 2004                                                                  
To Vose Galleries, inventory no. 34199, September 2004
To private collection, Newton, Massachusetts, September 2005 to present 

Inscription:

(top stretcher) Off Barbadoes [sic] / Painted by J. Buttersworth

Labels:

1. Framer label: Richard Hoare, 18 Gracechurch Street (London)
2. Previous Vose Galleries label, Inventory No. 34199
3. Previous Vose Galleries label, Inventory No. 32069