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to counterattack these batteries. These "hot potatoes," as they were nicknamed, were pre-heated to furnace temperatures before being fired at the advancing ships. Many were doused but a rogue heated shot could lie smouldering in the bowels of an enemy ship burning a cavity into the wood. Left long
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205:. Designed to fire on Gibraltar at close quarters with deadly accuracy, floating batteries were built of 1 metre (3 ft)-wide timbers packed with layers of wet sand, and were considered fire-proof and unsinkable. The British used
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in 1783 to depict the victory of the Great Siege which had been won a few months earlier. At over 42.5 square metres (458 square feet), his picture is one of
Britain's largest oil paintings.
273:. Trumbull finished his canvas in 1789 and displayed it in 1790, when Copley was able to view it and take some compositional inspirations, specifically in the lower left corner of his work.
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in April 1941, three weeks before the
Gallery was destroyed. No wall large enough to display it could be found until the Gallery was finally rebuilt. The painting was then loaned to the
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440:"Description of and key to the portraits in the large painting The defeat of the floating batteries at Gibraltar by J.S. Copley in the collection of the Corporation of London"
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Several years after Copley began work on his canvas, fellow
American painter John Trumbull began work on a painting of a different scene of the Great Siege,
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296:. It is now on display at the Guildhall Art gallery in London, where it occupies the entire back wall of the main exhibition space.
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The painting was originally hung in the Common
Council Chamber at Guildhall before being transferred to the original
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Nicholson, Benedict. "The Raft of the Medusa from the Point of View of the
Subject-Matter".
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in 1886. It was later taken down and taken out of London to be stored in safety during
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240:. General Eliott, created Lord Heathfield in 1787, was also portrayed by Sir
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544 cm × 754 cm (214 in × 297 in)
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Bond, Peter (2003). "Gibraltar's Finest Hour The Great Siege 1779–1783".
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201:. In September 1782 the Spanish formulated a secret weapon known as the
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510:(1st ed.). Gibraltar: Peter-Tan Publishing Co. pp. 28–29.
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The Defeat of the
Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782
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292:, but since 1993 loaned for exhibition/gallery display at the
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American-born John
Singleton Copley was commissioned by the
144:, is on horseback pointing to the rescue of the defeated
481:"National Museums and Galleries: Items on Overseas Loan"
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John
Trumbull: Patriot-Artist of the American Revolution
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The painting is based on an attack that took place in
469:. Boston: New York Graphic Society. pp. 137–138.
128:. It depicts the defeat of the floating batteries at
109:The Repulse of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar
210:enough, these would eventually cause an inferno.
91:The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar
24:The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar
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465:Jaff, Irma (1975). "Struggle for Recognition".
398:"Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar"
363:"Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar"
328:"Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar"
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307:The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar
270:The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar
165:George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield
625:The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781
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508:300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704–2004
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744:Collection of the Guildhall Art Gallery
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561:Portrait of Mrs. Theodore Atkinson Jr.
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103:The Siege and Relief of Gibraltar
16:Painting by John Singleton Copley
700:John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst
617:The Death of the Earl of Chatham
330:. City of London. Archived from
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185:was an unsuccessful attempt by
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230:General George Augustus Eliott
193:to capture Gibraltar from the
142:General George Augustus Eliott
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569:A Boy with a Flying Squirrel
199:War of American Independence
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483:. United Kingdom Parliament
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181:on September 13, 1782. The
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633:Portrait of Lord Mansfield
387:, XCVI, August 1954. 241—8
262:Metropolitan Museum of Art
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442:. Collage. Archived from
400:. Collage. Archived from
258:National Portrait Gallery
112:) is the title of a 1791
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649:The Battle of Camperdown
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250:National Gallery, London
183:Great Siege of Gibraltar
173:Great Siege of Gibraltar
134:Great Siege of Gibraltar
577:Portrait of Thomas Gage
601:Dr. Silvester Gardiner
290:residence in Gibraltar
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114:oil-on-canvas painting
97:The Siege of Gibraltar
593:Mrs Humphrey Devereux
546:John Singleton Copley
278:Guildhall Art Gallery
171:Further information:
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138:Governor of Gibraltar
126:John Singleton Copley
78:Guildhall Art Gallery
42:John Singleton Copley
609:Watson and the Shark
256:), currently in the
252:and Copley himself (
248:), currently in the
764:Paintings of people
754:Naval war paintings
679:Copley Square Hotel
385:Burlington Magazine
429:Bond, pages. 28–29
334:on 1 February 2014
203:Floating Batteries
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759:History paintings
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714:(stepfather)
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706:Henry Pelham
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485:. Retrieved
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448:. Retrieved
444:the original
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406:. Retrieved
402:the original
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367:. Retrieved
336:. Retrieved
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450:2 September
207:heated shot
197:during the
132:during the
728:Categories
500:References
338:17 January
156:Background
66:Dimensions
564:(c. 1765)
553:Paintings
282:The Blitz
179:Gibraltar
130:Gibraltar
51:1783–1791
300:See also
286:Governor
227:Governor
214:Painting
122:American
74:Location
693:Related
487:30 July
408:30 July
369:30 July
238:British
234:Spanish
195:British
150:British
146:Spanish
124:artist
672:statue
660:Legacy
652:(1799)
644:(1791)
636:(1783)
628:(1783)
620:(1781)
604:(1772)
596:(1771)
588:(1771)
580:(1768)
572:(1765)
191:France
136:. The
120:-born
118:Boston
82:London
38:Artist
702:(son)
314:Notes
187:Spain
489:2007
452:2007
410:2007
371:2007
340:2014
254:link
246:link
189:and
56:Type
48:Year
288:'s
116:by
106:or
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418:^
348:^
264:.
152:.
140:,
100:,
80:,
538:e
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454:.
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373:.
342:.
244:(
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