Eyre Crowe (1824-1910)

‘Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time’ by Eyre Crowe A.R.A. (1888). Reproduction from the Art Journal, May 1904, p.166

Pen and ink version of ‘Nelson leaving England for the last time’, by Eyre Crowe, published in Henry Blackburn’s Academy Notes, No. XIV, May 1888.

Medium: oil

Size: 163 x 247½ cm (62 x 98 inches)

Exhibited: Royal Academy, 1888; Naval Exhibition, 1891

Current owner: Norwich Castle Museum

Original caption: ‘On the 14th September, 1805, Nelson embarked at Portsmouth from the beach, where the bathing machines were placed, instead of the usual landing place, to elude the populace; but a crowd collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of him. He said, ‘I had their huzzas before; I have their hearts now’. The crowd pressed forward to shake hands with him, when he expressed regret that, having one hand only, he could not do so with all, etc.’

A pen and ink sketch of the composition, by Eyre Crowe, appeared in Henry Blackburn’s Academy Notes, No. XIV, May 1888.

The painting was shown at an exhibition of British naval painting in 1891, but remained in Eyre Crowe’s possession until 1905, when he sold it to Norwich Castle Museum for £150. It is still owned by the Museum, but is not on public display; however, details of the painting, and a colour image, are available on the Norfolk Museum Service’s website.

A print of the painting also forms part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. The Museum’s description of the print reveals that,

This image was reproduced in several publications such as the ‘October Monthly’ and the ‘Art Journal’, May 1904. It was also presented as a free copy with no. 675 of ‘Chums’, a periodical paper founded by Cassell & Co. in 1892. This was aimed at boys and advocated honour, middle-class values and high morality through adventure stories. Nelson was thus presented as their perfect exemplar, demonstrating the triumph of heroism and goodness over the enemy.

Athenaeum, 5 May 1888:

Mr. Eyre Crowe has sent a picture of unusual importance, which has occupied a considerable time. It represents, on a canvas 8 ft. long, Nelson leaving England for the Last Time (1055). By choosing a secluded part of the beach, Nelson endeavoured to make his departure as private as possible; notwithstanding this a certain number of persons surrounded the barge, and even when it was afloat several persons rushed into the water to shake hands with him, while others cheered him. The boat is nearly parallel to the edge of the sea; her crew, sitting double banked. hold their oars in the air to salute their chief; every face has been carefully studied from nature. The eyes of most of them are fixed on Nelson, standing in the stern and shaking hands with an old man-of-war’s man, who, bareheads, has waded into the water to bid the admiral farewell. It is said that Nelson cried out that he wished, instead of one hand, he had twenty hands to shake with his friends. The empty right sleeve of his coat is buttoned to his breast. A chorus of ‘old salts’ appear, shouting good wishes, at the further gunwale; at the nearer gunwales, close to the stern, an enthusiastic fisher-girl, with a creel at her back, is cheering Nelson. Like her wooden-legged neighbour, she has stepped into the sea. The office in command of the boat stands up near the stern and holds the admiral’s cloak, which, when he sits down, will be wrapped about his knees. In the mid-distance other boats are quitting the beach; far off are some big ships, the curving bay, and buildings at the shore.

Saturday Review of politics, literature, science and art, 19 May 1888:

…the worst picture in the Academy – “Nelson leaving England for the Last Time” (1055) – comes from Mr. Eyre Crowe

Daily Telegraph, 21 May 1888

A most meritorious work in historic genre is (1,055) Mr. Eyre Crowe, A.R.A.’s, “Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time.” The hero is depicted in the act of embarking on his gig at Portsmouth for conveyance to his flagship, the Victory, on the 14^th of September, 1805. He has chosen to push off from the beach, instead of from the usual landing-stage, in order to elude the populace; but a crowd has collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face, and to shake hands with him. An odd crowd has Mr. Eyre Crowe drawn. There are idlers, and boatmen, and fishermen, and beggars, and cripples, and bumbost-women knee-deep in the water, and all wild with patriotic enthusiasm; while the scene is surveyed with great approval from the shore by an old gentleman in a scarlet coat and cocked hat, probably from Southsea, and on the half-pay list. The likeness of Nelson is admirable, and the Jack Tars who man the boat, and are shipping their oars, are most ably delineated, every sailor having his own peculiar individuality of expression. The naval costume of the time – the Belcher handkerchiefs round the seamen’s necks, their pigtails, not to be cut off till seven years later – are all portrayed with scrupulous accuracy; the picture, in fine, tells its story quietly, but most effectively; it is patriotic to the core, and pathetic without the slightest touch of affectation. It is painted in Mr. Eyre Crowe’s ordinary cold, hard, dry manner; and to expect him to change that manner would be futile, perhaps, as to request the Ethiopian to change his skin or politely to hint to the leopard that it would be as well if he surrendered his spots.

The Leeds Mercury, 21 May 1888:

Mr. Eyre Crowe’s “Nelson leaving England for the last time” (1,005). It can hardly be said that Mr. Eyre Crowe has made any sacrifice to poetry or imagination – for Nelson’s face wears a curious “tooth-aching expression,” and his boatmen seem to have set theirs in harmony. There is, however, a touch of reality in the work which redeems the scene from the comic.

Birmingham Daily Post, 22 May 1888:

Mr. Eyre Crowe, A.R.A., is another painter whose single one is not one to enhance his reputation. This is “Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time” (1055). It is a very large canvas, more than eight feet in length, and the theme is one which appeals to every Englishman. Nelson had hoped to make his departure private by selecting a secluded part of the beach instead of the usual landing-place, but a crowd followed him and pressed forward to touch his hand. Mr. Crowe presents the boat parallel to the picture plane, the sailors holding their oars perpendicularly as a salute. These oars, which are certainly not beautiful, overpower everything else, and make the figures look insignificant. Nor is the matter mended when we take our eyes off this ugly row of ten huge upright oars, for the faces all through are of uniform texture, and that texture is leather. Nelson is made almost grotesque. We can but think of this as a fine subject spoiled.

The Times, 25 May 1888:

The tenth and eleventh rooms contain a curious mixture of successes and failures … Mr. Crowe, again, has fallen sadly below the standard that is fairly expected of an Associate in his stiff and lifeless performance.

Illustrated London News, 2 June 1888:

Mr. Eyre Crowe’s ‘Nelson leaving England for the last time’ (1055) endeavours to convey the dismal foreboding of the great national hero as strongly as the enthusiasm of his numerous admirers. We are free to confess that Mr. Caton Woodville’s work [‘Too Late’, showing the death of Sir Herbert Stewart] seems to us the more complete and the more dignified work of the two … the ‘glum’ face of Lord Nelson … is repeated with feeble variety in that of all the sailors, who are to row the Admiral’s barge. There is, moreover, on this occasion, a heaviness in Mr. Eyre Crowe’s touch which is not inherent to his style; and we miss here the dextrous hand which has so often charmed us.

Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle etc, 9 June 1888:

The following is a London Press criticism of a picture now on view at the exhibition of the Royal Academy: – “A most meritorious work in historic genre is (1,055) Mr. Eyre Crowe A.R.A.’s, ‘Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time.’ The hero is depicted in the act of embarking on his gig at Portsmouth for conveyance to his flagship the Victory, on the 14^th of September, 1805. He has chosen to push off from the beach, instead of from the usual landing-stage, in order to elude the populace; but a crowd has collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face, and to shake hands with him. An odd crowd has Mr. Eyre Crowe drawn. There are idlers, and boatmen, and fishermen, and beggars, and cripples, and bumboat women knee-deep in the water, and all wild with patriotic enthusiasm; while the scene is surveyed with great approval from the shore by an old gentleman in a scarlet coat and a cocked hat, probably from Southsea, and on the half-pay list. The likeness of Nelson is admirable, and the Jack Tars who man the boat, and are shipping their oars, are most ably delineated, every sailor having his peculiar individuality of expression. The naval costumes of the time – the Belcher handkerchiefs round the seamen’s necks, their pigtails, not be cut off till seven years later – are all pourtrayed [sic] with scrupulous accuracy; the picture, in fine, tells its story quietly, but most effectively; it is patriotic to the core, and pathetic without the slightest touch of affectation…

… the painting, interesting as it is to most Englishmen, ought to be doubly so to every native of Portsmouth, inasmuch as the incident depicted in it took place on our shore, and is therefore a part of the history of the town and country. Again, the portrait of the chief actor in the scene was, by the courtesy of the Mayor, copied by Mr. Crowe from Chantrey’s admirable bust of Nelson now in the Guildhall, presented some time since to the Corporation by Mr. W. Payne; and the “old gentleman in the scarlet coat and a cocked-hat, probably from Southsea, and on the half-pay list,” is likewise a local celebrity, being no other than Major Ashurst, who was Town Major about his period. .. [signed] W.H. Saunders, Portsmouth.

The Graphic, 16 June 1888:

Mr. Eyre Crowe’s large picture of “Nelson Leaving England for the Last Time” seems to be scrupulously accurate as regards costume, but most of the figures are lifeless and appear incapable of movement.