Object Description
A water colour and gouache on board of the B-class torpedo boat destroyer HMS Quail by Harry Price.
It is probable that Price painted HMS Quail when she returned to Britain after the Venezuela Crisis in 1903. He would have been serving on one of HMS Ariadne, Warrior or Vivid the RN barracks at Devonport. The label to the back of the painting states ‘H.M.S. Quail. Royal Tours – 1901, H.W. Price. RN 1903. 3’. The painting is initialled to the front ‘J.W.P 1903’ with ‘H.M.S Quail’ below.
Price painted HMS Quail in his diary when they were near to Halifax describing the encounter as ‘An exciting moment’. Quail nearly collided with H.M.S.Y. Ophir when exchanging despatches. Rather than stopping, the mail was handed over using a line off the lower boom. Ophir neglected to reduce its speed but Lt. Morant, Quail’s commanding officer, managed to take evasive action to avoid been hit by the Royal Yacht.
It is a curiosity as to why Price initialled his work with a J instead of an H. The initials are done with a line both above and below which he has also done when he has used the initials H.W.P. It is unlikely that the work is by another hand and the reason is not known. The size of the artist’s board is unusual, although apt for a ship, and is similar to that used for H.M.S. Linnet which is also initialled J.W.P.
HMS Quail is shown cutting through the sea at full steam ahead with black smoke trailing out of her 4 funnels. Dated 1903.