Naval Officers of World War I by Arthur Stockdale Cope

''Naval Officers of World War I'' is a large oil on canvas group portrait painting by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope, completed in 1921. It was commissioned by South African financier Sir

Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by birth while his ...

to commemorate the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officers who commanded British fleets in the First World War. Cope's painting was first exhibited at the

Royal Academy summer exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

in 1921 and donated to the National Portrait Gallery that year.

Background

Bailey commissioned two other commemorative portraits, '' General Officers of World War I'' (originally entitled ''Some General Officers of the Great War'') by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

, and ''

Statesmen of World War I ''Statesmen of World War I'' is an oil on canvas painting by Sir James Guthrie, completed in 1930, shortly before Guthrie's death. It was commissioned by South African financier Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet to commemorate the politicians an ...

'' by Sir James Guthrie. Bailey paid £5,000 for each of the three paintings and donated all three to the National Portrait Gallery.

Painting

The painting measures {{convert, 104, xx, 202.5, in, cm. It depicts 22 senior officers of the

who served during the First World War. Cope worked from sketches of each subject, and set them in the wood-panelled Admiralty Board Room at the

Old Admiralty Building The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral of ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

. There is a wind dial on one wall, with paintings of naval scenes to either side. On the wall to the left is a portrait of

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

by Leonardo Guzzardi, near a group of three officers who were killed in action during the war: Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, Sir

Christopher Cradock Rear Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was an English senior officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry. Appointed to the royal yacht, he was close to the ...

and Sir

Horace Hood Rear Admiral Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood, (2 October 1870 – 31 May 1916) was a Royal Navy admiral of the First World War, whose lengthy and distinguished service saw him engaged in operations around the world, frequently participating i ...

Viscount Jellicoe Earl Jellicoe is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Brocas, of Southampton in the County of Southampton, on 29 June 1925 for Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Viscoun ...

is shown to the right, sitting on a red leather chair, in conversation with his chief of staff, Sir Charles Madden, 1st Baronet The officers depicted are, from left to right: # Admiral Sir

Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair Admiral Sir Edwyn Sinclair Alexander-Sinclair, (born Alexander; 12 December 1865 – 13 November 1945) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer, notable for firing the first shots of the Battle of Jutland, and for leading a squadron of light cr ...

, commander of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron from 1915, then of the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron from 1917 # Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, commander of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron from June 1917 in the Baltic # Admiral of the Fleet Sir

Osmond Brock Admiral of the Fleet Sir Osmond de Beauvoir Brock, (5 January 1869 – 15 October 1947) was a Royal Navy officer. Brock served as assistant director of naval intelligence and then as assistant director of naval mobilisation at the Admiralty in t ...

, Beatty's Chief of Staff at the Grand Fleet from 1916 to 1919 # Admiral Sir

William Goodenough Admiral Sir William Edmund Goodenough (2 June 1867 – 30 January 1945) was a senior Royal Navy officer of World War I. He was the son of James Graham Goodenough. Naval career Goodenough joined the Royal Navy in 1882. He was appointed Commande ...

, commander of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron from 1913 to 1916 # Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet, commander of the

1st Cruiser Squadron The First Cruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of cruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the World War I then later as part of the Mediterranean Fleet, Mediterranean during the Interwar period and World War II it first ...

from January 1915, killed at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

in May 1916 # Admiral Sir

Montague Browning Admiral Sir Montague Edward Browning, (18 January 1863 – 4 November 1947) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. Military career Browning joined the Royal Navy in 1876. He served in the An ...

, commander of the

3rd Cruiser Squadron The 3rd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1902 to 1909 and 1911 to 1916 and then again from 1922 to 1941. History First formation The squadron was first formed in June 1902 and disbanded in March 1909 ...

to 1916, then Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies from 1916 to 1918, and then commander of the 4th Battle Squadron # Admiral Sir

, Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station until his death at the

Battle of Coronel The Battle of Coronel was a First World War Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader'' or ''Kreuzergeschwader'') ...

in November 1914 # Rear-Admiral Sir

, commander of the

3rd Battlecruiser Squadron The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was a short-lived Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. Creation The 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was created in 1915, with the return to home ...

from March 1915 to his death at the

in May 1916 # Admiral of the Fleet Sir John de Robeck, 1st Baronet, commander in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

from March 1915, and then commander of the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

from November 1916 # Admiral Sir William Pakenham, commander of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron from March 1915 to September 1916, then commander of the Australian Fleet to January 1917, and then commander of the

Battle Cruiser Fleet The Battle Cruiser Fleet, (BCF), later known as Battle Cruiser Force, a naval formation of fast battlecruisers of the Royal Navy, operated from 1915 to 1919. History The Fleet was formed on 11 February 1915 when the Admiralty ordered the deployme ...

from June 1917 # Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, commander of the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a p ...

of destroyers # Admiral of the Fleet

Roger Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Ear ...

, commander of the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

from January 1918 # Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cecil Burney, 1st Baronet, commander of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

from August to December 1914, then commander of the

1st Battle Squadron The 1st Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

, and then

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

from November 1916 to September 1917, and then Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland # Admiral of the Fleet

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadro ...

, commander of the

1st Battlecruiser Squadron The First Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. It was created in 1909 as the First Cruiser Squadron and was renamed in 1913 to First Battle Cru ...

from 1913 to December 1916, and then Commander-in-Chief of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

# Vice-Admiral Sir

Trevylyan Napier Vice Admiral Sir Trevylyan Dacres Willes Napier, (19 April 1867 – 30 July 1920) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station. Naval career Napier was the son of Ella Louisa (Wilson) an ...

, commander of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron from December 1914, then the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron from February 1915, then the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron from July 1917, and commander of the Light Cruiser Force from January 1918 # Admiral of the Fleet

Prince Louis of Battenberg Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British ...

, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven,

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

from December 1912 to October 1914 # Admiral Sir

Hugh Evan-Thomas Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas, (27 October 1862 – 30 August 1928) was a British Royal Navy officer. During World War I he commanded the 5th Battle Squadron (United Kingdom), 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, fly ...

, commander of the

5th Battle Squadron The 5th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 5th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Second Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. Hist ...

from October 1915 to October 1918 # Admiral of the Fleet Sir Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet, commander at the

Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, sen ...

in 1914 and then commander of the 4th Battle Squadron # Admiral Sir

Arthur Leveson Admiral Sir Arthur Cavenagh Leveson GCB (27 January 1868 – 26 June 1929) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy. He was the Rear Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Australian Fleet from 9 January 1917 to 3 September 1918 and later Commander in C ...

, commander of the Australian Fleet from January 1917 to September 1918 # Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Madden, 1st Baronet, Jellicoe's Chief of Staff at the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916, then commander of the

from December 1916 # Admiral of the Fleet

John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland ...

, Commander-in-Chief of the

from 1914 to 1916, and then

from December 1916 to July 1917 # Admiral of the Fleet

Rosslyn Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss, (12 April 1864 – 24 May 1933), known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the 12th C ...

from December 1917 to November 1919 The selection of officers depicted was largely the suggestion of Sir

Oswyn Murray Oswyn Murray (born 26 March 1937) is a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford University and a distinguished classical scholar. Murray is joint editor with John Boardman and Jasper Griffin of the ''Oxford History of the Classical World''. Boris Jo ...

, Secretary to the Admiralty, who proposed 20 admirals who had served at sea during the war. To his list were added the

s in 1914 and in 1918, Prince Louis of Battenberg and Rosslyn Wemyss. Notable omissions include Admiral of the Fleet

John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped t ...

and Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Jackson, both of whom held the post of

during the war, Fisher from November 1914 to May 1915 and Jackson from May 1915 to December 1916. Fisher was omitted at his own request. Also left out were

Dudley de Chair Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair (30 August 1864 – 17 August 1958) was a senior Royal Navy officer and later Governor of New South Wales. Early life and career De Chair was born on 30 August 1864 in Lennoxville, Province o ...

and

Reginald Tupper Admiral Sir Reginald Godfrey Otway Tupper, (16 October 1859 – 5 March 1945) was a Royal Navy officer active during the late Victorian period and the First World War. Early life and career Reginald Tupper was born on 16 October 1859, the son o ...

, who commanded the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...

in the

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was an operation of the British Royal Navy during the First World War and Second World War. The Patrol was part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany. Its ma ...

. The painting is held by the National Portrait Gallery but was not exhibited for several decades due to its poor condition. After restoration, it went back on display in May 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the First World War.

References

''Naval Officers of World War I''
National Portrait Gallery
Key
National Portrait Gallery * Andrew Lambert, ''Naval Officers of World War I'', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press
accessed 30 Sept 2014
1921 paintings Paintings in the National Portrait Gallery, London Naval war paintings Group portraits by English artists